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THE    FIRST  TRIAL  OF  WILDFIRE. 


V4<3/vK-i 

WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

.4    STORF   Of7    THE   AMERICAN   CIVIL    WAR. 


G.  A.  HENTY. 

0 

Author  of  "  Bonnie  Prince  Charlie,"  "  With  Clive  in  India.,™ 
"By  Pike  and  Dyke,"  Etc. 

ILLUSTRATED  BY  GORDON  BROWNE. 


{V 

4, 


qtP 


M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  CO, 

CHICAGO 

UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  MILL 


PREFACE. 


My  Dear  Lads:  The  great  war  between  the  Northern 
and  Southern  States  of  America  possesses  a  peculiar  in- 
terest to  us,  not  only  because  it  was  a  struggle  between 
two  sections  of  a  people  akin  to  us  in  race  and  language, 
but  because  of  the  heroic  courage  with  which  the  weaker 
party,  with  ill -fed,  ill -clad,  ill-equipped  regiments,  for 
four  years  sustained  the  contest  with  an  adversary  not 
only  possessed  of  immense  numerical  superiority,  but 
having  the  command  of  the  sea,  and  being  able  to  draw 
its  arms  and  munitions  of  war  from  all  the  manufactories 
of  Europe.  Authorities  still  differ  as  to  the  rights  of  the 
case.  The  Confederates  firmly  believed  that  the  States, 
having  voluntarily  united,  retained  the  right  of  with- 
drawing from  the  Union  when  they  considered  it  for 
their  advantage  to  do  so.  The  Northerners  took  the 
opposite  point  of  view,  and  an  appeal  to  arms  became 
inevitable.  During  the  first  two  years  of  the  war  the 
struggle  was  conducted  without  inflicting  unnecessary 
hardship  upon  the  general  population.  But  later  on  the 
character  of  the  war  changed,  and  the  Federal  armies 
carried  widespread  destruction  wherever  they  marched. 
Upon  the  other  hand,  the  moment  the  struggle  was  over 
the  conduct  of  the  conquerors  was  marked  by  a  clemency 
and  generosity  altogether  unexampled  in  history,  a  com- 
plete amnesty  being  granted,  and  none,  whether  soldiers 
or  civilians,  being  made  to  suffer  for  their  share  in  the 
rebellion.  The  credit  of  this  magnanimous  conduct  was 
to  a  great  extent  due  to  Generals  Grant  and  Sherman, 


iv  PBEFACE. 

the  former  of  whom  took  upon  himself  the  responsibility 
of  granting  terms  which,  although  they  were  finally  rati- 
fied by  his  government,  were  at  the  time  received  with 
anger  and  indignation  in  the  North.  It  was  impossible, 
in  the  course  of  a  single  volume,  to  give  even  a  sketch  of 
the  numerous  and  complicated  operations  of  the  war,  and 
I  have  therefore  confined  myself  to  the  central  point  of 
the  great  struggle — the  attempts  of  the  Northern  armies 
to  force  their  way  to  Eichmond,  the  capital  of  Virginia 
and  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy.  Even  in  recounting 
the  leading  events  in  these  campaigns,  I  have  burdened 
my  story  with  as  few  details  as  possible,  it  being  my 
object  now,  as  always,  to  amuse  as  well  as  to  give  instruo- 
tion  in  the  facts  of  history. 

Yours  sincerely, 

G.  A,  HENTYo 


CONTENTS* 


CHAPTER  I.  page 

A  Virginian  Plantation . « ......... .       1 

CHAPTER  II. 
Buying  a  Slave , 20 

CHAPTER  III. 
Aiding  a  Runaway 40 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Safely  Back 59 

CHAPTER  V. 
Secession 75 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Bull  Run 91 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Merrimac  and  the  Monitor , 114 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
McClellan's  Advance 183 

CHAPTER  IX. 
A  Prisoner ... . 149 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Escape 166 

CHAPTER  XL 
Fugitives 185 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Bushwhackers 303 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
LaidUp 333 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIV.  pagb 

Across  the  Border 241 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Fredericksburg 361 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Search  for  Dinah 279 

CHAPTER  XVIL 
Chancellorsville 301 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
A  Perilous  Undertaking.. 325 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Free 345 

CHAPTER  XX. 
The  End  of  the  Struggle « >  o « o  s « c* » » • « 8*6 


!TH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

A   VIRGINIAN    PLANTATION. 

"I  won't  have  it,  Pearson;  so  it's  no  use  your  talking. 
If  I  had  my  way  you  shouldn't  touch  any  of  the  field 
hands.  And  when  I  get  my  way — that  won't  be  so  very 
long — I  will  take  good  care  you  shan't.  But  you  shan't 
hit  Dan." 

"He  is  not  one  of  the  regular  house  hands,"  was  the 
reply;  "and  I  shall  appeal  to  Mrs.  Wingfield  as  to 
whether  I  am  to  be  interfered  with  in  the  discharge  of 
my  duties." 

"You  may  appeal  to  my  mother  if  you  like,  but  I  don't 
think  that  you  will  get  much  by  it.  I  tell  you  you  are  a 
deal  too  fond  of  that  whip,  Pearson.  It  never  was  heard  of 
on  the  estate  during  my  father's  time,  and  it  shan't  be 
again  when  it  comes  to  be  mine,  I  can  tell  you.  Come 
along,  Dan;  I  want  you  at  the  stables." 

So  saying,  Vincent  Wingfield  turned  on  his  heel,  and 
followed  by  Dan,  a  negro  lad  of  some  eighteen  years  old, 
he  walked  off  toward  the  house,  leaving  Jonas  Pearson, 
the  overseer  of  the  Orangery  estate,  looking  after  him 
with  an  evil  expression  of  face. 

Vincent  Wingfield  was  the  son  of  an  English  officer, 
who,  making  a  tour  in  the  States,  had  fallen  in  love  with 
and  won  the  hand  of  Winifred  Cornish,  a  rich  Virginian 
heiress,  and  one  of  the  belles  of  Eichmond.     After  the 


2  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

marriage  he  had  taken  her  home  to  visit  his  family  in 
England;  but  she  had  not  been  there  many  weeks  before 
the  news  arrived  of  the  sudden  death  of  her  father.  A 
month  later  she  and  her  husband  returned  to  Virginia,  as 
her  presence  was  required  there  in  reference  to  business 
matters  connected  with  the  estate,  of  which  she  was  now 
the  mistress. 

The  Orangery,  so  called  from  a  large  conservatory 
built  by  Mrs.  Wingfield's  grandfather,  was  the  family 
seat,  and  the  broad  lands  around  it  were  tilled  by  upward 
of  two  hundred  slaves.  There  were  in  addition  three 
other  properties  lying  in  different  parts  of  the  State. 
Here  Vincent,  with  two  sisters,  one  older  and  one 
younger  than  himself,  had  been  born.  When  he  was 
eight  years  old  Major  and  Mrs.  Wingfield  had  gone  over 
with  their  children  to  England,  and  had  left  Vincent 
there  for  four  years  at  school,  his  holidays  being  spent  at 
the  house  of  his  father's  brother,  a  country  gentleman  in 
Sussex.  Then  he  had  been  sent  for  unexpectedly;  his 
father  saying  that  his  health  was  not  good,  and  that  he 
should  like  his  son  to  be  with  him.  A  year  later  his 
father  died. 

Vincent  was  now  nearly  sixteen  years  old,  and  would 
upon  coming  of  age  assume  the  reins  of  power  at  the 
Orangery,  of  which  his  mother,  however,  would  be  the 
actual  mistress  as  long  as  she  lived.  The  four  years 
Vincent  had  passed  in  the  English  school  had  done  much 
to  render  the  institution  of  slavery  repugnant  to  him, 
and  his  father  had  had  many  serious  talks  with  him  dur- 
ing the  last  year  of  his  life,  and  had  shown  him  that 
there  was  a  good  deal  to  be  said  upon  both  sides  of  the 
subject. 

"There  are  good  plantations  and  bad  plantations, 
Vincent;  and  there  are  many  more  good  ones  than  bad 
ones.       There    are    brutes    to    be    found    everywhere. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  3 

There  are  bad  masters  in  the  Southern  States  just 
as  there  are  bad  landlords  in  every  European  country. 
But  even  from  self-interest  alone,  a  planter  has  greater 
reason  for  caring  for  the  health  and  comfort  of  his  slaves 
than  an  English  farmer  has  in  caring  for  the  comfort  of 
his  laborers.  Slaves  are  valuable  property,  and  if  they 
are  overworked  or  badly  cared  for  they  decrease  in  value. 
Whereas  if  the  laborer  falls  sick  or  is  unable  to  do  his 
work  the  farmer  has  simply  to  hire  another  hand.  It  is 
as  much  the  interest  of  a  planter  to  keep  his  slaves  in 
good  health  and  spirits  as  it  is  for  a  farmer  to  feed  and 
attend  to  his  horses  properly. 

"Of  the  two,  I  consider  that  the  slave  with  a  fairly 
kind  master  is  to  the  full  as  happy  as  the  ordinary 
English  laborer.  He  certainly  does  not  work  so  hard,  if 
he  is  ill  he  is  carefully  attended  to,  he  is  well  fed,  he  has 
no  cares  or  anxieties  whatever,  and  when  old  and  past 
work  he  has  no  fear  of  the  workhouse  staring  him  in  the 
face.  At  the  same  time  I  am  quite  ready  to  grant  that 
there  are  horrible  abuses  possible  under  the  laws  con- 
nected with  slavery. 

"The  selling  of  slaves,  that  is  to  say,  the  breaking  up 
of  families  and  selling  them  separately,  is  horrible  and 
abominable.  If  an  estate  were  sold  together  with  all  the 
slaves  upon  it,  there  would  be  no  more  hardship  in  the 
matter  than  there  is  when  an  estate  changes  hands  in 
England,  and  the  laborers  upon  it  work  for  the  new 
master  instead  of  the  old.  Were  I  to  liberate  all  the 
slaves  on  this  estate  to-morrow  and  to  send  them  North, 
I  do  not  think  that  they  would  be  in  any  way  benefited 
by  the  change.  They  would  still  have  to  work  for  their 
living  as  they  do  now,  and  being  naturally  indolent  and 
shiftless  would  probably  fare  much  worse.  But  against 
the  selling  of  families  separately  and  the  use  of  the  lash 
I  set  my  face  strongly. 


4  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"At  the  same  time,  my  boy,  whatever  your  sentiments 
may  be  on  this  subject,  you  must  keep  your  mouth  closed 
as  to  them.  Owing  to  the  attempts  of  Northern  Aboli- 
tionists, who  have  come  down  here  stirring  up  the  slaves 
to  discontent,  it  is  not  advisable,  indeed  it  is  absolutely 
dangerous,  to  speak  against  slavery  in  the  Southern 
States.  The  institution  is  here,  and  we  must  make  the 
best  we  can  of  it.  People  here  are  very  sore  at  the  foul 
slanders  that  have  been  published  by  Northern  writers. 
There  have  been  many  atrocities  perpetrated  undoubt- 
edly, by  brutes  who  would  have  been  brutes  wherever 
they  had  been  born;  but  to  collect  a  series  of  such  atroc- 
ities, to  string  them  together  into  a  story,  and  to  hold 
them  up,  as  Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe  has,  as  a  picture  of 
slave-life  in  the  Southern  States,  is  as  gross  a  libel  as  if 
any  one  were  to  make  a  collection  of  all  the  wife-beatings 
and  assaults  of  drunken  English  ruffians,  and  to  publish 
them  as  a  picture  of  the  average  life  of  English  people. 

"Such  libels  as  these  have  done  more  to  embitter  the 
two  sections  of  America  against  each  other  than  any- 
thing else.  Therefore,  Vincent,  my  advice  to  you  is,  be 
always  kind  to  your  slaves — not  over-indulgent,  because 
they  are  very  like  children  and  indulgence  spoils  them — ■ 
but  be  at  the  same  time  firm  and  kind  to  them,  and  with 
other  people  avoid  entering  into  any  discussions  or  ex- 
pressing any  opinion  with  regard  to  slavery.  You  can 
do  no  good  and  you  can  do  much  harm.  Take  things  as 
you  find  them  and  make  the  best  of  them.  I  trust  that 
the  time  may  come  when  slavery  will  be  abolished;  but  I 
hope,  for  the  sake  of  the  slaves  themselves,  that  when 
this  is  done  it  will  be  done  gradually  and  thoughtfully, 
for  otherwise  it  would  inflict  terrible  hardship  and  suffer- 
ing upon  them  as  well  as  upon  their  masters." 

There  were  many  such  conversations  between  father 
and  son,  for  feeling  on  the  subject  ran  very  high  in  the 


WITH  IjEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  5 

Southern  States,  and  the  former  felt  that  it  was  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  his  son  that  he  should  avoid  taking 
any  strong  line  in  the  matter.  Among  the  old  families 
of  Virginia  there  was  indeed  far  less  feeling  on  this  sub- 
ject than  in  some  of  the  other  States.  Knowing  the 
good  feeling  that  almost  universally  existed  between 
themselves  and  their  slaves,  the  gentry  of  Virginia  re- 
garded with  contempt  the  calumnies  of  which  they  were 
the  subject.  Secure  in  the  affection  of  their  slaves,  an 
affection  which  was  afterward  abundantly  proved  during 
the  course  of  the  war,  they  scarcely  saw  the  ugly  side  of 
the  question.  The  worst  masters  were  the  smallest  ones; 
the  man  who  owned  six  slaves  was  far  more  apt  to  extort 
the  utmost  possible  work  from  them  than  the  planter 
who  owned  three  or  four  hundred.  And  the  worst  mas- 
ters of  all  were  those  who,  having  made  a  little  money  in 
trade  or  speculation  in  the  towns,  purchased  a  dozen 
slaves,  a  small  piece  of  land,  and  tried  to  set  up  as 
gentry. 

In  Virginia  the  life  of  the  large  planters  was  almost  a 
patriarchal  one;  the  indoor  slaves  were  treated  with  ex- 
treme indulgence,  and  were  permitted  a  far  higher  degree 
of  freedom  of  remark  and  familiarity  than  is  the  case 
with  servants  in  an  English  household.  They  had  been 
the  nurses  or  companions  of  the  owners  when  children, 
had  grown  up  with  them,  and  regarded  themselves,  and 
were  regarded  by  them,  as  almost  part  of  the  family. 
There  was,  of  course,  less  connection  between  the  planters 
and  their  field  hands;  but  these  also  had  for  the  most  part 
been  born  on  the  estate,  had  as  children  been  taught  to 
look  up  to  their  white  masters  and  mistresses,  and  to  re- 
ceive many  little  kindnesses  at  their  hands. 

They  had  been  cared  for  in  sickness,  and  knew  that 
they  would  be  provided  for  in  old  age.  Each  had  his 
little  allotment,  and  could  raise  fruit,  vegetables,  and 


6  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 

fowls  for  his  own  use  or  for  sale  in  his  leisure  time.  The 
fear  of  loss  of  employment  or  the  pressure  of  want,  ever 
present  to  English  laborers,  had  never  fallen  upon  them. 
The  climate  was  a  lovely  one,  and  their  work  far  less 
severe  than  that  of  men  forced  to  toil  in  cold  and  wet, 
winter  and  summer.  The  institution  of  slavery  assuredly 
was  capable  of  terrible  abuses,  and  was  marked  in  many 
instances  by  abominable  cruelty  and  oppression;  but 
taken  all  in  all,  the  negroes  on  a  well-ordered  estate, 
under  kind  masters,  were  probably  a  happier  class  of  peo- 
ple than  the  laborers  upon  any  estate  in  Europe. 

Jonas  Pearson  had  been  overseer  in  the  time  of  Major 
Wingneld,  but  his  authority  had  at  that  time  been  com- 
paratively small,  for  the  major  himself  personally  super- 
vised the  whole  working  of  the  estate,  and  was  greatly 
liked  by  the  slaves,  whose  chief  affections  were,  however, 
naturally  bestowed  upon  their  mistress,  who  had  from 
childhood  been  brought  up  in  their  midst.  Major  Wing- 
field  had  not  liked  his  overseer,  but  he  had  never  had  any 
ground  to  justify  him  making  a  change.  Jonas,  who  was 
a  Northern  man,  was  always  active  and  energetic;  all 
Major  Wingfield's  orders  were  strictly  and  punctually 
carried  out,  and  although  he  disliked  the  man,  his  em- 
ployer acknowledged  him  to  be  an  excellent  servant. 

After  the  major's  death,  Jonas  Pearson  had  naturally 
obtained  greatly  increased  power  and  authority.  Mrs. 
Wingfield  had  great  confidence  in  him,  his  accounts  were 
always  clear  and  precise,  and  although  the  profits  of  the 
estate  were  not  quite  so  large  as  they  had  been  in  her 
husband's  lifetime,  this  was  always  satisfactorily  ex- 
plained by  a  fall  in  prices,  or  by  a  part  of  the  crops  being 
affected  by  the  weather.  She  flattered  herself  that  she 
herself  managed  the  estate,  and  at  times  rode  over  it^ 
made  suggestions,  and  issued  orders,  but  this  was  only  in 
fits  and  starts;  and  although  Jonas  came  up  two  or  three 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  7 

times  a  week  to  the  house  nominally  to  receive  her 
orders,  he  managed  her  so  adroitly  that  while  she  be- 
lieved that  everything  was  done  by  her  directions,  she  in 
reality  only  followed  out  the  suggestions  which,  in  the 
first  place,  came  from  him. 

She  was  aware,  however,  that  there  was  less  content 
and  happiness  on  the  estate  than  there  had  been  in  the 
old  times.  Complaints  had  reached  her  from  time  to 
time  of  overwork  and  harsh  treatment,  But  upon  in- 
quiring into  these  matters,  Jonas  had  always  such  plausi- 
ble reasons  to  give  that  she  was  convinced  he  was  in  the 
right,  and  that  the  fault  was  among  the  slaves  them- 
selves, who  tried  to  take  advantage  of  the  fact  that  they 
had  no  longer  a  master's  ©ye  upon  them,  and  accordingly 
tried  to  shirk  work,  and  to  throw  discredit  upon  the  man 
who  looked  after  the  interests  of  their  mistress;  and  so 
gradually  Mrs.  Wingfield  left  the  management  of  affairs 
more  and  more  in  the  hands  of  Jonas,  and  relied  more 
implicitly  upon  him. 

The  overseer  spared  no  pains  to  gain  the  good-will  Oj. 
Vincent.  When  the  latter  ileclared  that  the  horse  he 
rode  had  not  sufficient  life  and  spirit  for  him,  Jonas  had 
set  inquiries  on  foot,  and  had  selected  for  him  a  horse 
which,  for  speed  and  bottom,  had  no  superior  in  the 
State.  One  of  Mrs.  "Wmgfield's  acquaintances,  however, 
upon  hearing  that  she  had  purchased  the  animal,  told  her 
that  it  was  notorious  for  its  vicious  temper,  and  she  spoke 
angrily  to  Jonas  on  the  subject  in  the  presence  of  Vin- 
cent, The  overseer  excused  himself  by  saying  that  he 
had  certainly  heard  that  the  horse  was  high  spirited  and 
needed  a  good  rider,  and  that  he  should  not  have  thought 
of  selecting  it  had  he  not  known  that  Mr,  Vincent  was  a 
first-class  rider,  and  would  not  care  to  have  a  horse  that 
any  child  could  manage. 

The  praise  was  not  undeserved,     The  gentlemen   of 


8  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Virginia  were  celebrated  as  good  riders;  and  Major  Wing- 
field,  himself  a  cavalry  man,  had  been  anxious  that  Vin- 
cent should  maintain  the  credit  of  his  English  blood,  and 
had  peaced  him  on  a  pony  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  sit  on 
one.  A  pony  had  been  kept  for  his  use  during  his  holi- 
days at  his  uncle's  in  England,  and  upon  his  return  Vin- 
cent had,  except  during  the  hours  he  spent  with  his 
father,  almost  lived  on  horseback,  either  riding  about  the 
estate,  or  paying  visits  to  the  houses  of  other  planters. 

For  an  hour  or  more  every  day  he  exercised  .vis  father's 
horses  in  a  paddock  near  the  house,  the  major  being 
wheeled  down  in  an  easy-chair  and  superintending  his 
riding.  As  these  horses  had  little  to  do  and  were  full  of 
spirit,  Vincent's  powers  were  often  taxed  to  the  utmost, 
and  he  had  many  falls;  but  the  soil  was  light,  and  he  had 
learned  the  knack  of  falling  easily,  and  from  constant 
practice  was  able  at  the  age  of  fourteen  to  stick  on  firmly 
even  without  a  saddle,  and  was  absolutely  fearless  as  to 
any  animal  he  mounted. 

In  the  two  years  which  had  followed  he  had  kept  up 
his  riding.  Every  morning  after  breakfast  he  rode  to 
Richmond,  six  miles  distant,  put  up  his  horse  at  some 
stable  there,  and  spent  three  hours  at  school;  the  rest  of 
the  day  was  his  own,  and  he  would  often  ride  off  with 
some  of  his  schoolfellows  who  had  also  come  in  from  a 
distance,  and  not  return  home  till  late  in  the  evening. 
Vincent  took  after  his  English  father  rather  than  his 
Virginian  mother  both  in  appearance  and  character,  and 
was  likely  to  become  as  tall  and  brawny  a  man  as  the 
former  had  been  when  he  first  won  the  love  of  the  rich 
Virginian  heiress. 

He  was  full  of  life  and  energy,  and  in  this  respect 
offered  a  strong  contrast  to  most  of  his  schoolfellows  of 
the  same  age.  For  although  splendid  riders  and  keen 
sportsmen,  the  planters  of  Virginia  were  in  other  respects 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  9 

inclined  to  indolence;  the  result  partly  of  the  climate, 
partly  of  their  being  waited  upon  from  childhood  by  at- 
tendants ready  to  carry  out  every  wish.  He  had  his 
father's  cheerful  disposition  and  good  temper,  together 
with  the  decisive  manner  so  frequently  acquired  by  a 
service  in  the  army,  and  at  the  same  time  he  had  some- 
thing of  the  warmth  and  enthusiasm  of  the  Virginian 
character. 

Good  rider  as  he  was  he  was  somewhat  surprised  at  the 
horse  the  overseer  had  selected  for  him.  It  was  certainly 
a  splendid  animal,  with  great  bone  and  power;  but  there 
was  no  mistaking  the  expression  of  its  turned-back  eye, 
and  the  ears  that  lay  almost  flat  on  the  head  when  any 
one  approached  him. 

"It  is  a  splendid  animal,  no  doubt,  Jonas,"  he  said  the 
first  time  he  inspected  it;  "but  he  certainly  looks  as  if 
he  had  a  beast  of  a  temper.  I  fear  what  was  told  my 
mother  about  him  is  no  exaggeration;  for  Mr.  Markham 
told  me  to-day,  when  I  rode  down  there  with  his  son,  and 
said  that  we  had  bought  Wildfire,  that  a  friend  of  his  had 
had  him  once,  and  only  kept  him  for  a  week,  for  he  waa 
the  most  vicious  brute  he  ever  saw." 

"I  am  sorry  I  have  bought  him  now,  sir,"  Jonas  said. 
"Of  course  I  should  not  have  done  so  if  I  had  heard 
these  things  before;  but  I  was  told  he  was  one  of  the 
finest  horses  in  the  country,  only  a  little  tricky,  and  as 
his  price  was  so  reasonable  I  thought  it  a  great  bargain. 
But  I  see  now  I  was  wrong,  and  that  it  wouldn't  be  right 
for  you  to  mount  him;  so  I  think  we  had  best  send  him 
in  on  Saturday  to  the  market  and  let  it  go  for  what  it 
will  fetch.  You  see,  sir,  if  you  had  been  three  or  four 
years  older  it  would  have  been  different;  but  naturally  at 
your  age  you  don't  like  to  ride  such  a  horse  as  that." 

"I  shan't  give  it  up  without  a  trial,"  Vincent  said 
shortly.     "It  is  about  the  finest  horse  I  ever  saw;  and  it 


10  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 

it  hadn't  been  for  its  temper,  it  would  be  cheap  at  five 
times  the  sum  you  gave  for  it.  I  have  ridden  a  good 
many  bad-tempered  horses  for  my  friends  during  the  last 
year,  and  the  worst  of  them  couldn't  get  me  off." 

"Well,  sir,  of  course  you  will  do  as  you  please,"  Jonas 
said;  "but  please  to  remember  if  any  harm  comes  of  it 
that  I  strongly  advised  you  not  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  it,  and  I  did  my  best  to  dissuade  you  from  trying." 
Yincent  nodded  carelessly,  and  then  turned  to  the  black 
groom. 

"Jake,  get  out  that  cavalry  saddle  of  my  father's,  with 
the  high  cantle  and  pommel,  and  the  rolls  for  the  knees. 
It's  like  an  armchair,  and  if  one  can't  stick  on  on  that, 
one  deserves  to  be  thrown." 

While  the  groom  was  putting  on  the  saddle,  Vincent 
stood  patting  the  horse's  head  and  talking  to  it,  and  then 
taking  its  rein  led  it  down  into  the  inclosure. 

"'No,  I  don't  want  the  whip,"  he  said,  as  Jake  offered 
him  one.  "I  have  got  the  spurs,  and  likely  enough  the 
horse's  temper  may  have  been  spoiled  by  knocking  it 
about  with  a  whip;  but  we  will  try  what  kindness  will  do 
with  it  first." 

"Me  no  like  his  look,  Massa  Vincent;  he  debble  ob  a 
hoss  dat." 

"I  don't  think  he  has  a  nice  temper,  Jake;  but  people 
learn  to  control  their  temper,  and  I  don't  see  why  horses 
shouldn't.  At  any  rate  we  will  have  a  try  at  it.  He 
looks  as  if  he  appreciates  being  patted  and  spoken  to  al- 
ready. Of  course  if  you  treat  a  horse  like  a  savage  he 
will  become  savage.     Now,  stand  out  of  the  way." 

Gathering  the  reins  together,  and  placing  one  hand 
upon  the  pommel,  Vincent  sprang  into  the  saddle  with- 
out touching  the  stirrups;  then  he  sat  for  a  minute  or 
two  patting  the  horse's  neck.  Wildfire,  apparently  dis- 
gusted at  having  allowed  himself  to  be  mounted  so  sud- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  11 

denly,  lashed  out  viciously  two  or  three  times,  and  then 
refused  to  move.  For  half  an  hour  Vincent  tried  the 
effect  of  patient  coaxing,  but  in  vain. 

"Well,  if  you  won't  do  it  by  fair  means  you  must  by 
foul,"  Vincent  said  at  last,  and  sharply  pricked  him  with 
his  spurs. 

Wildfire  sprang  into  the  air,  and  then  began  a  desper- 
ate series  of  efforts  to  rid  himself  of  his  rider,  rearing  and 
kicking  in  such  quick  succession  that  he  seemed  half  the 
time  in  the  air.  Finding  after  awhile  that  his  efforts 
were  unavailing,  he  subsided  at  last  into  sulky  immova- 
bility. Again  Vincent  tried  coaxing  and  patting,  but  as 
no  success  attended  these  efforts,  he  again  applied  the 
spur  sharply.  This  time  the  horse  responded  by  springing 
forward  like  an  arrow  from  a  bow,  dashed  at  the  top  of 
his  speed  across  the  inclosure,  cleared  the  high  fence 
without  an  effort,  and  then  set  off  across  the  country. 

He  had  attempted  to  take  the  bit  in  his  teeth,  but  with 
a  sharp  jerk  as  he  drove  the  spurs  in,  Vincent  had  de- 
feated his  intention.  He  now  did  not  attempt  to  check 
or  guide  him,  but  keeping  a  light  hand  on  the  reins  let 
him  go  his  own  course.  Vincent  knew  that  so  long  as 
the  horse  was  going  full  speed  it  could  attempt  no  trick 
to  unseat  him,  and  he  therefore  sat  easily  in  his  saddle. 

For  six  miles  Wildfire  continued  his  course,  clearing 
every  obstacle  without  abatement  to  his  speed,  and  de- 
lighting his  rider  with  his  power  and  jumping  qualities. 
Occasionally,  only  when  the  course  he  was  taking  would 
have  led  him  to  obstacles  impossible  for  the  best  jumper 
to  surmount,  Vincent  attempted  to  put  the  slightest  pres- 
sure upon  one  rein  or  the  other,  so  as  to  direct  it  to  an 
easier  point. 

At  the  end  of  six  miles  the  horse's  speed  began  slightly 
to  abate,  and  Vincent,  abstaining  from  the  use  of  his 
spurs,  pressed  it  with  his  kneea  and  spoke  to  it  cheer- 


13  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

fully,  urging  it  forward.  He  now  from  time  to  time 
bent  forward  and  patted  it,  and  for  another  six  miles  kept 
it  going  at  a  speed  almost  as  great  as  that  at  which  it  had 
started.  Then  he  allowed  it  gradually  to  slacken  its 
pace,  until  at  last  first  the  gallop  and  then  the  trot 
ceased,  and  it  broke  into  a  walk. 

"You  have  had  a  fine  gallop,  old  fellow,"  Vincent  said, 
patting  it;  "and  so  have  I.  There's  been  nothing  for 
you  to  lose  your  temper  about,  and  the  next  road  we  come 
upon  we  will  turn  our  face  homeward.  Half  a  dozen 
lessons  like  this,  and  then  no  doubt  we  shall  be  good 
friends." 

The  journey  home  was  performed  at  a  walk,  Vincent 
talking  the  greater  part  of  the  time  to  the  horse.  It  took 
a  good  deal  more  than  six  lessons  before  Wildfire  would 
start  without  a  preliminary  struggle  with  his  master,  but 
in  the  end  kindness  and  patience  conquered.  Vincent 
often  visited  the  horse  in  the  stables,  and,  taking  with 
him  an  apple  or  some  pieces  of  sugar,  spent  some  time 
there  talking  to  and  petting  it.  He  never  carried  a  whip, 
and  never  used  the  spurs  except  in  forcing  it  to  make  its 
first  start. 

Had  the  horse  been  naturally  ill-tempered  Vincent 
would  have  probably  have  failed,  but,  as  he  happened 
afterward  to  learn,  its  first  owner  had  been  a  hot- 
tempered  and  passionate  young  planter,  who,  instead  of 
being  patient  with  it,  had  beat  it  about  the  head,  and  so 
rendered  it  restive  and  bad-tempered.  Had  Vincent 
not  laid  aside  his  whip  before  mounting  it  for  the  first 
time,  he  probably  would  never  have  effected  a  cure.  It 
was  the  fact  that  the  animal  had  no  longer  a  fear  of  his 
old  enemy  the  whip  as  much  as  the  general  course  of 
kindness  and  good  treatment  that  had  effected  the  change 
in  his  behavior. 

It  was  just  when  "Vincent  had  established  a  good  under- 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  13 

standing  between  himself  and  Wildfire  that  he  bad  the 
altercation  with  the  overseer,  whom  he  found  about  to 
flog  the  young  negro  Dan.  Pearson  had  sent  the  lad  half 
an  hour  before  on  a  message  to  some  slaves  at  work  at 
the  other  end  of  the  estate,  and  had  found  him  sitting  on 
the  ground  watching  a  tree  in  which  he  had  discovered  a 
'possum.  That  Dan  deserved  punishment  was  un- 
doubted. He  had  at  present  no  regular  employment 
upon  the  estate.  Jake,  his  lather,  was  head  of  the 
stables,  and  Dan  had  made  himself  useful  in  odd  jobs 
about  the  horsos,  and  expected  to  become  one  &£  the 
regular  stable  hands.  The  overseer  was  of  opinion  that 
there  were  already  more  negroes  in  the  stable  than  could 
find  employment,  and  had  urged  upon  Mrs.  Wingfield 
that  one  of  the  hands  there  and  the  boy  Dan  should  be 
sent  out  to  the  fields.     She,  however,  refused. 

"I  know  you  are  quite  right,  Jonas,  in  what  you  say. 
But  there  were  always  four  hands  in  the  stable  in  my 
father's  time,  and  there  always  have  been  up  to  now;  and 
though  I  know  they  have  an  easy  time  of  it,  I  certainly 
should  not  like  to  send  any  of  them  out  to  the  fields.  As 
to  Dan,  we  will  think  about  it.  When  his  father  was 
about  his  age  he  used  to  lead  my  pony  when  I  first  took 
to  riding,  and  when  there  is  a  vacancy  Dan  must  come 
into  the  stable.  I  could  not  think  of  sending  him  out  as 
a  field  hand,  in  the  first  place  for  his  father's  sake,  but 
still  more  for  that  of  Vincent.  Dan  used  to  be  told  off 
to  see  that  he  did  not  get  into  mischief  when  he  was  a 
little  boy,  and  he  has  run  messages  and  been  his  special 
boy  since  he  came  back.  Vincent  wanted  to  have  him  as 
his  regular  house  servant;  but  it  would  have  broken  old 
Sam's  heart  if,  after  being  my  father's  boy  and  my  hus- 
band's, another  had  taken  his  place  as  Vincent's." 

And  so  Dan  had  remained  in  the  stable,  but  regarding 
Vincent  as  his  special  master,  carrying  notes  for  him  to 


J4  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

his  friends,  or  doing  any  odd  jobs  lie  might  require,  and 
spending  no  small  portion  of  his  time  in  sleep.  Thus  he 
was  an  object  of  special  dislike  to  the  overseer;  in  the 
first  place  because  he  had  not  succeeded  in  having  his 
way  with  regard  to  him,  and  in  the  second  because  he 
was  a  useless  hand,  and  the  overseer  loved  to  get  as  much 
work  as  possible  out  of  every  one  on  the  estate.  The 
message  had  been  a  somewhat  important  one,  as  he 
wanted  the  slaves  for  some  work  that  was  urgently  re- 
quired; and  he  lost  his  temper,  or  he  would  not  have 
done  an  act  which  would  certainly  bring  him  into  col- 
lision with  Vincent. 

He  was  well  aware  that  the  lad  did  not  really  like  him, 
and  that  his  efforts  to  gain  his  good-will  had  failed,  and 
he  had  foreseen  that  sooner  or  later  there  would  be  a 
struggle  for  power  between  them.  However,  he  relied 
upon  his  influence  with  Mrs.  Wingfield,  and  upon  the 
fact  that  she  was  the  life-owner  of  the  Orangery,  and  be- 
lieved that  he  would  be  able  to  maintain  his  position 
even  when  Vincent  came  of  age.  Vincent  on  his  side 
objected  altogether  to  the  overseer's  treatment  of  the 
hands,  of  which  he  heard  a  good  deal  from  Dan,  and  had 
already  remonstrated  with  his  mother  on  the  subject. 
He,  however,  gained  nothing  by  this.  Mrs.  Wingfield 
had  replied  that  he  was  too  young  to  interfere  in  such 
matters,  that  his  English  ideas  would  not  do  in  Virginia, 
and  that  naturally  the  slaves  were  set  against  the  over- 
seer; and  that  now  Pearson  had  no  longer  a  master  to 
support  him,  he  was  obliged  to  be  more  severe  than  be- 
fore to  enforce  obedience.  At  the  same  time  it  vexed 
her  at  heart  that  there  should  be  any  severity  on  the 
Orangery  estate,  where  the  best  relations  had  always  pre- 
vailed between  the  masters  and  slaves,  and  she  had  her- 
self spoken  to  Jonas  on  the  subject. 

He  had  given  her  the  same  answer  that  she  had  given 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  15 

her  son:  "The  slaves  will  work  for  a  master,  Ws.  Wing- 
field,  in  a  way  they  will  not  for  a  stranger.  They  set 
themselves  against  me,  and  if  I  were  not  severe  with  them 
I  should  get  no  work  at  all  out  of  them.  Of  course,  if 
you  wish  it,  they  can  do  as  they  like;  but  in  that  case 
they  must  have  another  overseer.  I  cannot  see  a  fine 
estate  going  to  ruin.  I  believe  myself  some  of  these 
Abolition  fellows  have  been  getting  among  them  and  do- 
ing them  mischief,  and  that  there  is  a  bad  spirit  growing 
up  among  them.  I  can  assure  you  that  I  am  as  lenient 
with  them  as  is  possible  to  be.  But  if  they  won't  work 
I  must  make  them,  so  long  as  I  stay  here." 

And  so  the  overseer  had  had  his  way.  She  knew  that 
the  man  was  a  good  servant,  and  that  the  estate  was  kept 
in  excellent  order.  After  all,  the  severities  of  which  she 
had  heard  complaints  were  by  no  means  excessive;  and  it 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  a  Northern  overseer  could 
rule  entirely  by  kindness,  as  the  owner  of  an  estate  could 
do.  A  change  would  be  most  inconvenient  to  her,  and 
she  would  have  difficulty  in  suiting  herself  so  well 
another  time.  Besides,  the  man  had  been  with  her  six- 
teen years,  and  was,  as  she  believed,  devoted  to  her  inter- 
ests. Therefore  she  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  Vincent's 
remonstrances. 

She  had  always  been  somewhat  opposed  to  his  being 
left  in  England  at  school,  urging  that  he  would  learn 
ideas  there  that  would  clash  with  those  of  the  people 
among  whom  his  life  was  to  be  spent;  and  she  still  con- 
sidered that  her  views  had  been  justified  by  the  result. 

The  overseer  was  the  first  to  give  his  version  of  the 
story  about  Dan's  conduct;  for  on  going  to  the  house 
Vincent  found  his  sisters,  Eosa  and  Annie,  in  the  garden, 
having  just  returned  from  a  two  days'  visit  to  some 
friends  in  Richmond,  and  stayed  chatting  with  them  and 
listening  to  their  news  for  an  hour,  and  in  the  meantime 


J(J  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Jonas  had  gone  in  and  seen  Mrs.  Wingfield  and  told  his 
story. 

"I  think,  Mrs.  Wingfield/'  he  said  when  he  had  fin- 
ished, "that  it  will  he  better  for  me  to  leave  you,  It  is 
quite  evident  that  I  can  have  no  authority  over  the  hands 
if  your  son  is  to  interfere  when  I  am  about  to  punish  a 
slave  for  an  act  of  gross  disobedience  and  neglect.  I 
found  that  all  the  tobacco  required  turning,  and  now  it 
will  not  be  done  this  afternoon  owing  to  my  orders  not 
being  carried  out,  and  the  tobacco  will  not  improbably  be 
injured  in  quality.  My  position  is  difficult  enough  as  it 
is;  but  if  the  slaves  see  that  instead  of  being  supported  I 
am  thwarted  by  your  son,  my  authority  is  gone  alto- 
gether. No  overseer  can  carry  on  his  work  properly 
under  such  circumstances." 

"1  will  see  to  the  matter,  Jonas,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  said 
decidedly.  £fBe  assured  that  you  have  my  entire  sup- 
port, and  I  will  see  that  my  son  does  not  again  interfere." 

When  therefore,  Vincent  entered  the  house  and  began 
his  complaint  he  found  himself  cut  short. 

"I  have  heard  the  story  already,  Vincent.  Dan  acted 
in  gross  disobedience,  Mid  thoroughly  deserved  the  pun- 
ishment Jonas  was  about  to  give  him.  The  work  of  the 
estate  cannot  be  carried  on  if  such  conduct  is  to  be  toler- 
ated; and  once  for  all,  I  will  permit  no  interference  on 
your  part  with  Jonas,  If  you  have  any  complaints  to 
make,  come  to  me  and  make  them;  but  you  are  not  your- 
self to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the  overseer.  As  for 
D^n,  I  have  directed  Jonas  that  the  next  time  he  gives 
cause  for  complaint  he  is  to  go  into  the  fields." 

Vincent  stood  silent  for  a  minute,  then  she  aid  quietly: 

"Very  well,  mother.  Of  course  you  can  do  as  you  like; 
but  at  any  rate  I  will  not  keep  my  mouth  shut  when  I 
see  that  fellow  ill-treating  the  slaves.  Such  things  were 
never  done  in  my  father's  time,  and  I  won't  see  them 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  17 

done  now.  You  said  the  other  day  you  would  get  me  a 
nomination  to  West  Point  as  soon  as  I  was  sixteen.  I 
should  be  glad  if  you  would  do  so.  By  the  time  I  have 
gone  through  the  school,  you  will  perhaps  see  that  1  have 
been  right  about  Jonas." 

So  saying,  he  turned  and  left  the  room  and  again 
joined  his  sisters  in  the  drawing-room. 

"I  have  just  told  mother  that  I  will  go  to  West  Point, 
girls,"  he  said.  "Father  said  more  than  once  that  he 
thought  it  was  the  best  education  I  could  get  in  America." 

"But  I  thought  you  had  made  up  your  mind  that  you 
would  rather  stop  at  home,  Vincent?" 

"So  I  had,  and  so  I  would  have  done,  but  mother  and  I 
differ  in  opinion.  That  fellow  Jonas  was  going  to  flog 
Dan,  and  I  stopped  him  this  morning,  and  mother  takes 
his  part  against  me.  You  know,  I  don't  like  the  way  he 
goes  on  with  the  slaves.  They  are  not  half  so  merry  and 
happy  as  they  used  to  be,  and  I  don't  like  it.  We  shall 
have  one  of  them  running  away  next,  and  that  will  be  a 
nice  thing  on  what  used  to  be  considered  one  of  the  hap- 
piest plantations  in  Virginia.  I  can't  make  mother  out; 
I  should  have  thought  that  she  would  have  been  the  last 
person  in  the  world  to  have  allowed  the  slaves  to  be 
harshly  treated." 

"I  am  sure  we  don't  like  Jonas  more  than  you  do,  Vin- 
cent; but  you  see  mamma  has  to  depend  upon  him  so 
much.  No,  I  don't  think  she  can  like  it;  but  you  can't 
have  everything  you  like  in  a  man,  and  I  know  she  thinks 
he  is  a  very  good  overseer.  I  suppose  she  could  get 
another?" 

Vincent  said  he  thought  that  there  could  not  be  much 
difficulty  about  getting  an  overseer. 

"There  might  be  a  difficulty  in  getting  one  she  could 
rely  on  so  thoroughly,"  Rosa  said.  "You  see  a  great 
deal  must  be  left  to  him.     Jonas  has  been  here  a  good 


18  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

many  years  now,  and  she  has  learned  to  trust  him.  It 
would  be  a  long  time  before  she  had  the  same  confidence 
in  a  stranger;  and  you  may  be  sure  that  he  would  have 
his  faults,  though,  perhaps,  not  the  same  as  those  of 
Jonas.  I  think  you  don't  make  allowance  enough  for 
mamma,  Vincent.  I  quite  agree  with  you  as  to  Jonas, 
and  I  don't  think  mamma  can  like  his  harshness  to  the 
slaves  anj  more  than  you  do;  but  every  one  says  what  a 
difficulty  it  is  to  get  a  really  trustworthy  and  capable 
overseer,  and,  of  course,  it  is  all  the  harder  when  there 
is  no  master  to  look  after  him." 

"Well,  in  a  few  years  I  shall  be  able  to  look  after  an 
overseer,"  Vincent  said. 

"You  might  do  so,  of  course,  Vincent,  if  you  liked; 
but  unless  you  change  a  good  deal,  I  don't  think  your 
supervision  would  amount  to  much.  When  you  are  not 
at  school  you  are  always  on  horseback  and  away,  and  we 
see  little  enough  of  you,  and  I  do  not  think  you  are  likely 
for  a  long  time  yet  to  give  up  most  of  your  time  to  look- 
ing after  the  estate." 

"Perhaps  you  are  right,"  Vincent  said,  after  thinking 
for  a  minute;  "but  I  think  I  could  settle  down  too,  and 
give  most  of  my  time  to  the  estate,  if  I  was  responsible 
for  it.  I  dare  say  mother  is  in  a  difficulty  over  it,  and  I 
should  not  have  spoken  as  I  did;  I  will  go  in  and  tell 
her  so." 

Vincent  found  his  mother  sitting  as  he  had  left  her. 
Although  she  had  sided  with  Jonas,  it  was  against  her 
will;  for  it  was  grievous  to  her  to  hear  complaints  of  the 
treatment  of  the  slaves  at  the  Orangery.  Still,  as  Rosa 
had  said,  she  felt  every  confidence  in  her  overseer,  and 
believed  that  he  was  an  excellent  servant.  She  was  con- 
scious that  she  herself  knew  nothing  of  business,  and 
that  she  must  therefore  give  her  entire  confidence  to  her 
manager.     She  greatly  disliked  the  strictness  of  Jonas; 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  19 

but  if,  as  he  said,  the  slaves  would  not  obey  him  without, 
he  must  do  as  he  thought  best. 

"I  think  I  spoke  too  hastily,  mother,"  Vincent  said  as 
he  entered;  "and  I  am  sure  that  you  would  not  wish  the 
slaves  to  be  ill-treated  more  than  I  should.  I  dare  say 
Jonas  means  for  the  best." 

"I  feel  sure  that  he  does,  Vincent.  A  man  in  his  posi- 
tion cannot  make  himself  obeyed  like  a  master.  I  wish 
it  could  be  otherwise,  and  I  will  speak  to  him  on  the  sub- 
ject; but  it  will  not  do  to  interfere  with  him  too  much. 
A  good  overseer  is  not  easy  to  get,  and  the  slaves  are  al- 
ways ready  to  take  advantage  of  leniency.  An  easy 
master  makes  bad  work,  but  an  easy  overseer  would  mean 
ruin  to  an  estate.  I  am  convinced  that  Jonas  has  our 
interests  at  heart,  and  I  will  tell  him  that  I  particularly 
wish  that  he  will  devise  some  other  sort  of  punishment, 
such  as  depriving  men  who  won't  work  of  some  of  their 
privileges  instead  of  using  the  lash." 

"Thank  you,  mother.  At  any  rate,  he  might  be  told 
that  the  lash  is  never  to  be  used  without  first  appealing 
to  you." 

"I  will  see  about  it,  Vincent,  and  talk  it  over  with 
him,"    And  with  that  Vincent  was  satisfied. 


20  WITH  JL&E  ZZT  VimiNlA, 


CHAPTER  II. 

BUYING    A    SLAVE. 

Wxstgfield  did  talk  the  matter  over  with  the 
overseer,  and  things  went  on  in  consequence  more 
smoothly.  Vincent,  however,  adhered  to  his  wish,  and 
it  was  arranged  that  as  soon  as  he  could  get  a  nomination 
he  should  go  to  West  Point,  which  is  to  the  American 
army  what  Sandhurst  and  Woolwich  are  to  England.  Be- 
fore that  could  be  done,  however,  a  great  political  agita- 
tion sprang  up.  The  slave  States  were  greatly  excited  over 
the  prospect  of  a  Eepublican  president  being  chosen,  for 
the  Eepublicans  were  to  a  great  extent  identified  with 
the  abolition  movement;  and  public  feeling,  which  had 
.for  some  time  run  high,  became  ir  ';ensified  as  the  time 
approached  for  the  election  of  a  new  president,  and 
threats  that  if  the  Democrats  were  beaten  and  a  Repub- 
lican elected  the  slave  States  would  secede  from  the 
Union,  were  freely  indulged  in. 

In  Virginia,  which  was  one  of  the  most  northern  of 
the  slave  States,  opinion  was  somewhat  divided,  there 
being  a  strong  minority  against  any  extreme  measures  be- 
ing taken.  Among  Vincent's  friends,  however,  who  were 
for  the  most  part  the  sons  of  planters,  the  Democratic 
feeling  was  very  strongly  in  the  ascendant,  and  their 
sympathies  were  wholly  with  the  Southern  States.  That 
these  had  a  right  to  secede  was  assumed  by  them  as  being 
unquestionable. 

But  in  point  of  fact  there  was  a  great  deal  to  be  said 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  21 

on  both  sides.  The  States  which  first  entered  the  Union 
in  1776  considered  themselves  to  be  separate  and  sover- 
eign States,  each  possessing  power  and  authority  to  man- 
age its  own  affairs,  and  forming  only  a  federation  in 
order  to  construct  a  central  power,  and  so  to  operate 
with  more  effect  against  the  mother  country.  Two  years 
later  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  was  framed, 
each  State  giving  up  a  certain  portion  of  its  authority, 
reserving  its  own  self-government  and  whatever  rights 
were  not  specifically  resigned. 

No  mention  was  made  in  the  constitution  of  the  right 
of  a  State  to  secede  from  the  Union,  and  while  those 
who  insisted  that  each  State  had  a  right  to  secede  if  it 
chose  to  do  so,  declared  that  this  right  was  reserved,  their 
opponents  affirmed  that  such  a  case  could  never  have 
been  contemplated.  Thus  the  question  of  absolute  right 
had  never  been  settled,  and  it  became  purely  one  of  force. 

Early  in  November,  1860,  it  became  known  that  the 
election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  Republican  candidate,  was 
assured,  and  on  the  ninth  of  that  month  the  representa- 
tives of  South  Carolina  met  at  Charleston,  and  unani- 
mously authorized  the  holding  of  a  State  convention  to 
meet  in  the  third  week  in  December.  The  announce- 
ment caused  great  excitement,  for  it  was  considered  cer- 
tain that  the  convention  would  pass  a  vote  of  secession, 
and  thus  bring  the  debated  question  to  an  issue.  Al- 
though opinion  in  Virginia  was  less  unanimous  than  in 
the  more  Southern  States,  it  was  generally  thought  that 
she  would  imitate  the  example  of  South  Carolina. 

On  the  day  following  the  receipt  of  the  news,  Vincent, 
who  had  ridden  over  to  the  plantations  of  several  of  his 
friends  to  talk  the  matter  over,  was  returning  homeward, 
when  he  heard  the  sound  of  heavy  blows  with  a  whip  and 
loud  curses,  and  a  moment  later  a  shrill  scream  in  a 
woman's  voice  rose  in  the  air. 


22  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Vincent  checked  his  horse  mechanically  with  an 
exclamation  of  anger.  He  knew  but  too  well  what  was 
going  on  beyond  the  screen  of  shrubs  that  grew  on  the 
other  side  of  the  fence  bordering  the  road.  For  a  mo- 
ment he  hesitated,  and  then  muttering,  "What's  the  ase!*' 
was  about  to  touch  the  horse  with  the  whip  and  gallop 
on,  when  the  shriek  again  rose  louder  and  more  agoniz- 
ing than  before.  With  a  cry  of  rage  Vincent  leaped 
from  his  horse,  threw  the  reins  over  the  top  of  the  fence, 
climbed  over  it  in  a  moment,  and  burst  his  way  through 
the  shrubbery. 

Close  by  a  negro  was  being  held  by  four  others,  two 
having  hold  of  each  wrist  and  holding  his  arms  extended 
to  full  length,  while  a  white  lad,  some  two  years  Vin- 
cent's senior,  was  showering  blows  with  a  heavy  whip 
upon  him.  The  slave's  back  was  already  covered  with 
weals,  and  the  blood  was  flowing  from  several  places.  A 
few  yards  distant  a  black  girl,  with  a  baby  in  her  arms, 
was  kneeling  on  the  ground  screaming  for  mercy  for  the 
elave.  Just  as  Vincent  burst  through  the  bushes,  the 
young  fellow,  irritated  at  her  cries,  turned  round  and  de- 
livered a  tremendous  blow  with  the  whip  on  her  bare 
shoulders. 

This  time  no  cry  came  from  her  lips,  but  the  slave,  who 
had  stood  immovable  while  the  punishment  was  being  in- 
flicted upon  himself,  made  a  desperate  effort  to  break  from 
the  men  who  held  him.  He  was  unsuccessful,  but  before 
the  whip  could  again  fall  on  the  woman's  shoulders,  Vin- 
cent sprang  forward,  and  seizing  it,  wrested  it  from  the 
hands  of  the  striker.  With  an  oath  of  fury  and  surprise 
at  this  sudden  interruption,  the  young  fellow  turned  upon 
Vincent. 

"You  are  a  coward  and  a  blackguard,  Andrew  Jack- 
son!" Vincent  exclaimed,  white  with  anger.  "You  are 
a  disgrace  to  Virginia,  you  ruffian  !" 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  23 

Without  a  word  the  young  planter,  mad  with  rage  at 
this  interference,  rushed  at  Vincent;  but  the  latter  had 
learned  the  use  of  his  fists  at  his  English  school,  and  rid- 
ing exercises  had  strengthened  his  muscles,  and  as  his 
opponent  rushed  at  him,  he  met  him  with  a  blow  from 
the  shoulder  which  sent  him  staggering  back  with  the 
blood  streaming  from  his  lips.  He  again  rushed  forward, 
and  heavy  blows  were  exchanged;  then  they  closed  and 
grappled.  For  a  minute  they  swayed  to  and  fro;  but  al- 
though much  taller,  the  young  planter  was  no  stronger 
than  Vincent,  and  at  last  they  came  to  the  ground  with  a 
crash,  Vincent  uppermost,  Jackson's  head  as  he  fell  com- 
ing with  such  force  against  a  low  stump  that  he  lay 
insensible. 

The  contest  had  been  so  sudden  and  furious  that  none 
had  attempted  to  interfere.  Indeed,  the  negroes  were  so 
astonished  that  they  had  not  moved  from  the  moment 
when  Vincent  made  his  appearance  upon  the  scene.  The 
lad  rose  to  his  feet. 

"You  had  better  carry  him  up  to  the  house  and  throw 
some  water  on  him,"  he  said  to  the  negroes,  and  then 
turned  to  go  away.  As  he  did  so,  the  slave  who  had  been 
flogged  broke  from  the  others,  who  had  indeed  loosened 
their  hold,  and  ran  up  to  Vincent,  threw  himself  on  his 
knees,  and  taking  the  lad's  hand  pressed  it  to  his  lips. 

"I  am  afraid  I  haven't  done  you  much  good,"  Vincent 
said.  "You  will  be  none  the  better  of!  for  my  interfer- 
ence; but  I  couldn't  help  it."  So  saying  he  made  his 
way  through  the  shrubbery,  cleared  the  fence,  mounted, 
and  rode  homeward. 

"I  have  been  a  fool,"  he  said  to  himself  as  he  rode 
along.  "It  will  be  all  the  worse  for  that  poor  beggar 
afterward;  still  I  could  not  help  it.  I  wonder  will  there 
be  any  row  about  it.  I  don't  much  expect  there  will, 
the  Jacksons  don't  stand  well  now,  and  this  would  not 


24  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

do  them  any  good  with  the  people  round;  besides  I  don't 
think  Jackson  would  like  to  go  into  court  to  complain  of 
being  thrashed  by  a  fellow  a  head  shorter  than  himself. 
It's  blackguards  like  him  who  give  the  Abolitionists  a 
right  to  hold  up  the  slave-owners  as  being  tyrants  and 
brutes." 

The  Jacksons  were  newcomers  in  Virginia.  Six  years 
before,  the  estate,  of  which  the  Cedars,  as  their  place  was 
called,  formed  a  part,  was  put  up  for  sale.  It  was  a  very 
large  one,  and  having  been  divided  into  several  portions 
to  suit  buyers,  the  Cedars  had  been  purchased  by  Jack- 
son, who,  having  been  very  successful  as  a  storekeeper  at 
Charleston,  had  decided  upon  giving  up  the  business  and 
leaving  South  Carolina,  and  settling  down  as  a  land- 
owner in  some  other  State.  His  antecedents,  however, 
were  soon  known  at  Richmond,  and  the  old  Virginian 
families  turned  a  cold  shoulder  to  the  newcomer. 

Had  he  been  a  man  of  pleasant  manners,  he  would 
gradually  have  made  his  way;  but  he  was  evidently  not  a 
gentleman.  The  habits  of  trade  stuck  to  him,  and  in  a 
very  short  time  there  were  rumors  that  the  slaves,  whom 
he  had  bought  with  the  property,  found  him  a  harsh  and 
cruel  master.  This  in  itself  would  have  been  sufficient 
to  bring  him  disrepute  in  Virginia,  where  as  a  rule  the 
slaves  were  treated  with  great  kindness,  and  indeed  con- 
sidered their  position  to  be  infinitely  superior  to  that  of 
the  poorer  class  of  whites.  Andrew  Jackson  had  been 
for  u  few  months  at  school  with  Vincent;  he  was  unpop- 
ular there,  and  from  the  rumors  current  as  to  the  treat- 
ment of  the  slaves  on  the  estate  was  known  by  the  nick- 
name of  the  ' 'slave-driver." 

Had  Vincent  been  the  son  of  a  white  trader,  or  a  small 
cultivator,  he  knew  well  enough  that  his  position  would 
be  a  very  serious  one,  and  that  he  would  have  had  to  ride 
to  the  border  of  the  State  with  all  speed.     He  would 


WJTE  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  25 

have  been  denounced  at  once  as  an  Abolitionist,  and 
would  have  been  accused  of  stirring  up  the  slaves  to  rebel- 
lion against  their  masters,  a  crime  of  the  most  serious 
kind  in  the  Southern  States.  But  placed  as  he  was,  as 
the  heir  of  a  great  estate  worked  by  slaves,  such  a  cry 
could  hardly  be  raised  against  him.  He  might  doubtless 
be  fined  and  admonished  for  interfering  between  a  master 
and  his  slave;  but  the  sympathy  of  the  better  classes  in 
Virginia  would  be  entirely  with  him.  Vincent,  there- 
fore, was  but  little  concerned  for  himself;  but  he  doubted 
greatly  whether  his  interference  had  net  do~e  much  more 
harm  than  good  to  the  slave  and  his  wife,  for  upon  them 
Andrew  Jackson  would  vent  his  fury.  He  rode  direct  to 
the  stables  instead  of  alighting  as  usual  at  the  door. 
Dan,  who  had  been  sitting  on  the  veranda  waiting  for 
him,  ran  down  to  the  stables  as  he  saw  him  coming. 

"Give  the  horse  to  one  of  the  others,  Dan;  I  want  to 
speak  to  you.  Dan,"  he  went  on  when  he  had  walked 
with  him  a  short  distance  from  the  stables,  "I  suppose 
you  know  some  of  the  hands  on  Jackson's  plantation." 

Dan  grinned,  for  although  there  was  not  supposed  to 
be  any  communication  between  the  slaves  on  the  different 
estates,  it  was  notori  us  that  at  night  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  slipping  out  of  their  huts  and  visiting  each 
other. 

"I  know  some  ob  dem,  Marse  Vincent.  What  you 
want  ob  dem?  Berry  bad  master,  Marse  Jackson.  Wust 
master  hereabouts." 

Vincent  related  what  had  happened,  to  Dan's  intense 
delight. 

"Now,  Dan,"  he  went  on,  "I  am  afraid  that  after  my 
interference  they  will  treat  that  poor  fellow  and  his  wife 
worse  than  before.  I  want  you  to  find  out  for  me  what 
is  going  on  at  Jackson's.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  do 
anything,  however  badly  they  treat  them;  but  I  have 


2Q  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

been  thinking  that  if  they  ill-treat  them  very  grossly.,  I 
will  get  together  a  party  of  fifteen  or  twenty  of  my 
friends  and  we  will  go  in  a  body  to  Jackson's,  and  warn 
him  that  if  he  behaves  with  cruelty  to  his  slaves  we  will 
make  it  so  hot  for  him  that  he  will  have  to  leave  the 
State.  I  don't  say  that  we  could  do  anything;  but  as  we 
should  represent  most  of  the  large  estates  round  here,  I 
don't  think  old  Jackson  and  his  son  would  like  being 
sent  to  Coventry.  The  feeling  is  very  strong  at  present 
against  ill-treatment  of  the  slaves.  If  these  troubles  lead 
to  war  almost  all  of  us  will  go  into  the  army,  and  we  do 
not  like  the  thought  of  the  possibility  of  troubles  among 
the  hands  when  the  whites  are  all  away." 

"I  will  find  out  all  about  it  for  you  to-night,  sah.  I 
don't  suspect  dat  dey  will  do  nuffin  to-day.  Andrew 
Jackson  too  sick  after  dat  knock  against  de  tump.  He 
keep  quiet  a  day  or  two." 

"Well,  Dan,  you  go  over  to-night  and  find  out  all 
about  it.  I  expect  I  had  better  have  left  things  alones 
but  now  I  have  interfered  I  shall  go  on  with  it." 

Mrs.  Wingfield  was  much  displeased  when  Vincent  told 
her  at  dinner  of  his  incident  at  Jackson's  plantation  and 
even  his  sisters  were  shocked  at  this  interference  between 
a  master  and  his  slave. 

"You  will  get  yourself  into  serious  trouble  with  these 
fanciful  notions  of  yours,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  said  angrily. 
"You  know  as  well  as  I  do  how  easy  it  is  to  get  up  a  cry 
against  any  one  as  an  Abolitionist  and  how  difficult  to 
disprove  the  accusation;  and  just  at  present,  when  the 
passions  of  every  man  in  the  South  are  inflamed  to  the 
utmost,  such  an  accusation  will  be  most  serious.  In  the 
present  instance  there  does  not  seem  that  there  is  a 
shadow  of  excuse  for  your  conduct.  You  simply  heard 
cries  of  a  slave  being  flogged.  You  deliberately  leave 
the  road  and  enter  these  people's  plantation  and  inter* 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  fgf 

fere  without,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  the  least  reason  for  do- 
ing so.  You  did  not  inquire  what  the  man's  offense  was; 
and  he  may  for  aught  you  know  have  half-murdered  his 
master.  You  simply  see  a  slave  being  flogged  and  you 
assault  his  owner.  If  the  Jacksons  lay  complaints 
against  you  it  is  quite  probable  that  you  may  have  to 
leave  the  State.  What  on  earth  can  have  influenced  you 
to  act  in  such  i  mad-braii  ed  w«.y?" 

"I  did  not  interfere  to  prevent  his  flogging  the  slave, 
mother,  but  to  prevent  his  flogging  the  slave's  wife, 
which  was  pure  wanton  brutality.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
slavery  one  way  or  the  other.  Any  one  has  a  right  to  in- 
terfere to  put  a  stop  to  brutality.  If  I  saw  a  man 
brutally  treating  a  horse  or  a  dog  I  should  certainly  do 
so;  and  if  it  is  right  to  interfere  to  save  a  dumb  animal 
from  brutal  ill-treatment  surely  it  must  be  justifiable  to 
save  a  woman  in  the  same  case.  I  am  not  an  Abolition- 
ist. That  is  to  say,  I  consider  that  slaves  on  a  properly 
managed  estate,  like  ours,  for  instance,  are  just  as  well 
off  as  are  the  laborers  on  an  estate  in  Europe;  but  I 
should  certainly  like  to  see  laws  passed  to  protect  them 
from  ill-treatment.  Why,  in  England  there  are  laws 
against  cruelty  to  animals;  and  a  man  who  brutally 
flogged  a  dog  or  a  horse  would  get  a  month's  imprison- 
ment with  hard  labor.  I  consider  it  a  disgrace  to  us  that 
a  man  may  here  ill-treat  a  human  being  worse  than  he 
might  in  England  a  dumb  animal." 

"You  know,  Vincent,"  his  mother  said  more  quietly, 
"that  I  object  as  much  as  you  do  to  the  ill-treatment  of 
the  slaves,  and  that  the  slaves  here,  as  on  all  well-con- 
ducted plantations  in  Virginia,  are  well  treated;  but  this 
is  not  a  time  for  bringing  in  laws  or  carrying  out  re- 
forms. It  is  bad  enough  to  have  scores  of  Northerners 
doing  their  best  to  stir  up  mischief  between  masters  and 
slaves  without  a  Southern  gentleman  mixing  himself  up 


28  WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA, 

in  the  matter.  We  have  got  to  stand  together  as  one 
people  and  to  protect  our  State  rights  from  interfer- 
ence." 

"I  am  just  as  much  in  favor  of  State  rights  as  any  one 
else,  mother;  and  if,  as  seems  likely,  the  present  quarrel 
is  to  be  fought  out,  I  hope  I  shall  do  my  best  for  Virginia 
as  well  as  other  fellows  of  my  own  age  But  just  as  I 
protest  against  any  interference  by  the  Northerners  with 
our  laws,  I  say  that  we  ought  to  amend  our  laws  so  as  not 
to  give  them  the  shadow  of  an  excuse  for  interference. 
It  is  brutes  like  the  Jacksons  w1  o  have  afforded  the 
materials  for  libels  like  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin'  upon  us  as 
a  people;  and  I  can't  say  that  I  am  a  bit  sorry  for  having 
given  that  young  Jackson  what  he  deserved." 

"W  11,  I  hope  there  will  be  no  trouble  come  of  it," 
Mrs.  Wingfield  said.  "I  shouldn't  think  the  Jacksons 
would  like  th:  exposure  of  their  doings  which  would  be 
caused  by  bringing  the  matter  into  courc;  but  if  they  do, 
you  may  be  quite  sure  that  a  jury  in  Eichmond  at  the 
present  time  would  find  against  you." 

"I  don't  suppose  that  they  will  do  anything,  mother. 
But  if  they  must,  they  must;  and  I  don't  suppose  any- 
thing serious  will  come  of  it  any  way." 

The  next  morning  Vincent  went  down  early  to  the 
stables.  As  he  approached  them  Dan  came  out  to  meet 
him. 

"Well,  Dan,  what's  your  news?" 

"Berry  great  bobbery  ober  at  Jackson's  last  night, 
Massa  Vincent.  Fust  of  all  I  crept  round  to  de  huts  ob 
de  field  hands.  Dey  all  know  nuffin,  bout  it;  but  one  of 
dem  he  goes  off  and  gets  to  hab  a  talk  with  a  gal  em- 
ployed in  de  house  who  was  in  de  habit  of  slipping  out  to 
see  him.  She  say  when  de  young  un  war  carried  in  de 
old  man  go  on  furious;  he  bring  suit  against  you,  he  hab 
you  punished  bery  much — no  saying  what  he  not  going 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  29 

to  do.  After  a  time  de  young  un  come  round,  he  listen 
to  what  the  ould  man  say  for  some  time;  den  he  answer: 
'No  use  going  on  like  dat.  Set  all  de  county  families 
against  us  if  we  have  suit.  As  to  dat  infernal  young  vil- 
lain, me  pay  him  out  some  other  way.'  Den  de  old  man 
say  he  cut  de  flesh  off  de  bones  ob  dat  nigger;  but  de 
young  one  say:  'Mustn't  do  dat.  You  sure  to  hear  about 
it,  and  make  great  bobbery.  Find  some  oder  way  to 
punish  him.'  Den  dey  talk  together  for  some  time,  but 
girl  not  hear  any  more." 

"Well,  then,  there  will  be  no  suit  anyhow,"  Vincent 
said.  "As  to  paying  me  out  some  other  way,  I  will  look 
after  myself,  Dan.  I  believe  that  fellow  Jackson  is 
capable  of  anything,  and  I  will  be  on  the  lookout  for  him." 

"Be  sure  you  do,  Marse  Vincent.  You  ride  about  a 
great  deal,  dat  fellow  bery  like  take  a  shot  at  you  from 
behind  tree.  Don't  you  go  near  dat  plantation,  or  sure 
enuff  trouble  come." 

I  will  look  out,  Dan.  There  is  one  thing,  I  always 
ride  fast;  and  it  wants  a  very  good  shot  to  hit  one  at  a 
gallop.  I  don't  think  they  will  try  that;  for  if  he 
missed,  as  he  would  be  almost  sure  to  do,  it  would  be  a 
good  deal  worse  for  him  than  this  affair  would  have  been 
had  he  brought  it  into  court.  You  keep  your  ears  open, 
Dan,  and  find  out  how  they  are  thinking  of  punishing 
that  poor  fellow  for  my  interference  on  his  behalf." 

After  breakfast  a  negro  arrived  with  a  note  for  Mrs. 
Wingfield  from  Mr.  Jackson,  complaining  of  the  unwar- 
rantable and  illegal  interference  by  her  son  on  behalf  of 
a  slave  who  was  being  very  properly  punished  for  gross 
misconduct;  and  of  the  personal  assault  upon  his  son. 
The  writer  said  that  he  was  most  reluctant  to  take  legal 
proceedings  against  a  member  of  so  highly  respected  a 
family,  but  that  it  was  impossible  that  he  could  submit  to 
such  an  outrage  as  this. 


80  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Although  Mrs.  Wingfield  had  expressed  her  disap- 
proval of  Vincent's  conduct  on  the  evening  before,  there 
was  no  trace  of  that  feeling  in  her  reply  to  this  letter. 
She  wrote  in  the  third  person,  coldly  acknowledging  the 
receipt  of  Mr.  Jackson's  letter,  and  saying  that  she  had 
heard  from  her  son  of  his  interference  to  put  a  stop  to 
one  of  those  brutal  scenes  which  brought  discredit  upon 
the  Southern  States,  and  that  she  considered  he  had 
most  rightly  punished  Mr.  Jackson,  jun.,  for  his  inhu- 
man and  revolting  conduct;  that  she  was  perfectly  aware 
the  interference  had  been  technically  illegal,  but  that  her 
son  was  fully  prepared  to  defend  his  conduct  if  called 
upon  to  do  so  in  the  courts,  and  to  pay  any  fine  that 
might  be  inflicted  for  his  suffering  himself  to  be  carried 
away  by  his  righteous  indignation.  She  ended  by  saying 
that  as  Mr.  Jackson  was  a  stranger  in  Virginia,  he  was 
perhaps  not  aware  that  the  public  sentiment  of  that 
State  was  altogether  opposed  to  such  acts  of  brutality  as 
that  of  which  his  son  had  been  guilty. 

"What  have  you  been  doing  to  that  fellow  Andrew 
Jackson?"  one  of  Vincent's  friends,  a  young  fellow  two 
years  older  than  himself,  said  to  him  a  few  day  later. 
"There  were  a  lot  of  us  talking  over  things  yesterday,  in 
Richmond,  and  he  came  up  and  joined  in.  Something 
was  said  about  Abolitionists,  and  he  said  that  he  should 
like  to  see  every  Abolitionist  in  the  State  strung  up  to  a 
tree.  He  is  always  pretty  violent,  as  you  know;  but  on 
the  present  occasion  he  went  further  than  usual,  and  then 
went  on  to  say  that  the  worst  and  most  dangerous  Aboli- 
tionists were  not  Northern  men  but  Southerners,  who 
were  traitors  to  their  State.  He  said:  'For  example, 
there  is  that  young  Wingfield.  He  has  been  to  England, 
and  has  come  back  with  his  heart  filled  with  Abolitionist 
notions;'  and  that  such  opinions  at  the  present  time  were 
a  danger  to  the  State. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  31 

'Two  or  three  of  us  took  the  matter  up,  as  you  might 
guess,  and  told  him  he  had  better  mind  what  he  was  say- 
ing or  it  would  be  the  worse  for  him.  Harry  Furniss 
went  so  far  as  to  tell  him  that  he  was  a  liar,  and  that  if 
he  didn't  like  that  he  could  have  satisfaction  in  the 
usual  way.  Master  Jackson  didn't  like  it,  but  muttered 
something  and  slunk  off.  What's  the  matter  between 
you?" 

"I  should  not  have  said  anything  about  it,"  Vincent 
replied,  "if  Jackson  had  chosen  to  hold  his  tongue;  but 
as  he  chooses  to  go  about  attacking  me,  there  is  no  rea- 
son why  I  should  keep  the  matter  secret."  And  he  then 
related  what  had  taken  place. 

The  young  Virginian  give  a  low  whistle. 

"I  don't  say  I  blame  you,  Wingfield;  but  I  tell  you, 
you  might  have  got  yourself  into  an  awful  mess  if  the 
Jacksons  had  chosen  to  take  it  up.  You  know  how  hot 
the  feeling  is  at  present,  and  it  is  a  serious  matter  at  any 
time  to  interfere  between  a  master  and  his  slaves  in  the 
Southern  States.  Of  course  among  us  our  feelings  would 
be  all  against  Jackson;  but  among  the  poorer  class  of 
whites,  who  have  been  tremendously  excited  by  the 
speeches,  both  in  the  North  and  here,  the  cry  of  Aboli- 
tionist at  the  present  moment  is  like  a  red  rag  to  a  bull. 
However,  I  understand  now  the  fellow's  enmity  to  you. 

"None  of  us  ever  liked  him  when  he  was  at  school  with 
us.  He  is  «,n  evil-tempered  brute,  and  I  am  afraid  you 
may  have  some  trouble  with  him.  If  he  goes  about  talk- 
ing as  he  did  to  us,  he  would  soon  get  up  a  feeling 
against  you.  Of  course  it  would  be  nonsense  to  openly 
accuse  a  member  of  an  old  Virginian  family  of  being  an 
Abolitionist;  but  it  would  be  easy  enough  to  set  a  pack 
of  the  rough  classes  of  the  town  against  you,  and  you 
might  get  badly  mauled  if  they  caught  you  alone.  The 
fellow  is  evidently  a  coward,  or  he  would  have  taken  up 


32  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

what  Furniss  said;  but  a  coward  who  is  revengeful  is  a 
good  deal  more  dangerous  than  an  open  foe.  However, 
I  will  talk  it  over  with  some  of  the  others,  and  we  will 
see  if  we  can't  stop  Andrew  Jackson's  mouth." 

The  result  of  this  was  that  the  next  day  half  a  dozen 
of  Vincent's  friends  wrote  a  joint  letter  to  Andrew  Jack- 
son, saying  that  they  regarded  his  statements  respecting 
Vincent  as  false  and  calumnious,  and  that  if  he  repeated 
them  they  would  jointly  and  severally  hold  him  respon- 
sible; and  that  if,  as  a  result  of  such  accusations,  any 
harm  happened  to  Vincent,  they  should  know  where  to 
look  for  the  originator  of  the  mischief,  and  punish  him 
accordingly. 

"You  shoul^  be  more  careful,  Andrew,"  his  father 
said,  as  white  wi  h  f  ry  he  showed  him  his  letter.  "It 
was  you  who  were  preaching  prudence  the  other  day,  and 
warning  me  against  taking  steps  that  would  set  all  the 
whole  country  against  us;  and  now,  you  see,  you  have 
been  letting  your  tongue  run,  and  have  drawn  this  upon 
yourself.  Keep  quiet  for  the  present,  my  son;  all  sorts 
of  things  may  occur  before  long,  and  you  will  get  your 
chance.     Let  this  matter  sleep  for  the  present." 

A  day  or  two  later  when  Vincent  went  down  to  the 
stables  he  saw  that  Dan  had  something  to  tell  him,  and 
soon  found  out  that  he  wished  to  speak  to  him  alone. 

"What  is  your  news,  Dan?" 

"I  heard  last  night,  Marse  Vincent,  that  old  man 
Jackson  is  going  to  sell  Dinah;  dat  de  wife  ob  de  man  dey 
flogged." 

"They  are  going  to  sell  her!"  Vincent  repeated  indig- 
nantly.    "What  are  they  going  to  do  that  for?" 

"To  punish  Toriy,  sah.  Dar  am  no  law  against  dar 
selling  her.  I  hear  dat  dey  are  going  to  sell  two  oder 
boys,  so  dat  it  cannot  be  paid  dat  dey  do  it  on  purpose  to 
spite  Tony.     I  reckon,  sah,  dey  calculate  dat  when  dey 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  33 

sell  his  wife  Tony  get  mad  and  run  away,  and  den  when 
dey  catch  him  again  dey  flog  him  pretty  near  to  death. 
Folk  always  do  dat  with  runaway  slaves;  no  one  can  say 
nuffin  agin  dem  for  dat." 

"It's  an  infamous  shame  that  it  should  be  lawful  to 
separate  man  and  wife/'  Vincent  said.  "However,  we 
will  see  what  we  can  do.  You  manage  to  pass  the  word 
to  Tony  to  keep  up  his  spirits,  and  not  let  them  drive 
him  to  do  anything  rash.  Tell  him  I  will  see  that  his 
wife  does  not  get  into  bad  hands.  I  suppose  they  will 
sell  the  baby  too?" 

"Yes,  Marse  Vincent.  Natural  the  baby  will  go  wid 
de  modder." 

Vincent  watched  the  list  of  advertisements  of  slaves  to 
be  sold,  and  a  day  or  two  later  saw  a  notice  to  the  effect 
that  Dinah  Morris,  age  twenty-two,  with  a  male  baby  at 
her  breast,  would  be  sold  on  the  following  Saturday.  He 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  into  Eichmond.  He  had  not 
liked  to  speak  to  his  mother  on  the  subject,  for  she  had 
not  told  him  of  the  letter  she  had  written  to  Jackson; 
and  he  thought  that  she  might  disapprove  of  any  inter- 
ference in  the  matter,  consequently  he  went  down  to  Mr. 
Renfrew,  the  family  solicitor. 

"Mr.  Eenfrew/'he  said,  "I  want  some  money;  can  you 
lend  it  me?" 

"You  want  money/'  the  solicitor  said  in  surprise. 
"What  on  earth  do  you  want  money  for?  and  if  you  want 
it,  why  don't  you  ask  your  mother  for  it?  How  much  do 
you  want?" 

"I  don't  know  exactly.  About  eight  hundred  dollars, 
I  should  think;  though  it  may  be  a  thousand.  I  want  to 
buy  a  slave." 

"You  want  to  buy  a  slave!"  repeated  Mr.  Eenfrew. 
"What  on  earth  do  you  want  to  buy  a  slave  for?  You 
have  more  than  you  want  now  at  the  Orangery.'' 


§ 


34  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"It's  a  slave  that  man  Jackson  is  going  to  sell  next 
Saturday,  on  purpose  to  spite  the  poor  creature's  hus- 
band and  drive  him  to  desperation,"  and  Vincent  then 
repeated  the  whole  story  of  the  circumstances  that  had 
led  up  to  the  sale. 

"It  is  all  very  abominable  on  the  part  of  these  Jack- 
sons/'  Mr.  Renfrew  said,  "but  your  interference  was 
most  imprudent,  my  young  friend;  and,  as  you  see,  it 
has  done  harm  rather  than  good.  If  you  are  so  quixotic 
as  to  become  the  champion  of  every  ill-treated  slave  in 
the  State,  your  work  is  pretty  well  cut  out  for  you.5' 

"I  know  that,  sir,"  Vincent  replied,  smiling,  "and  I 
can  assure  you  I  did  not  intend  to  enter  upon  any  such 
crusade;  but,  you  see,  I  have  wrongly  or  rightly  mixed 
myself  up  in  this,  and  I  want  to  repair  the  mischief 
which,  as  you  say,  I  have  caused.  The  only  way  I  can 
see  is  to  buy  this  negress  and  her  baby." 

"But  I  do  not  see  that  you  will  carry  out  your  object 
if  you  do,  Vincent.  She  will  be  separated  just  as  much 
from  her  husband  if  you  buy  her  as  if  any  one  else  does. 
He  is  at  one  plantation  and  she  is  at  another,  and  were 
they  ten  miles  apart  or  a  hundred,  they  are  equally 
separated." 

"I  quite  see  that,  Mr.  Eenfrew;  but,  at  least,  she  will 
be  kindly  treated,  and  his  mind  will  be  at  rest  on  that 
score.  Perhaps  some  day  or  other  the  Jacksons  may  put 
him  up  for  sale,  and  then  I  can  buy  him,  and  they  will 
be  reunited.  At  any  rate,  the  first  step  is  to  buy  her. 
Can  you  let  me  have  the  money?  My  mother  makes  me 
a  very  good  allowance." 

"And  I  suppose  you  spend  it,"  the  lawyer  inter- 
rupted. 

"Well,  yes,  I  generally  spend  it;  but  then,  you  see, 
when  I  come  of  age  I  come  in  for  the  outlying  estates." 

"And  if  you  die  before,  or  get  shot,  or  any  other  acci- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  35 

dent  befalls  you/'  Mr.  Benfrew  said,  "they  go  to  your 
sisters.  However,  one  must  risk  something  for  a  client, 
so  I  will  lend  you  the  money.  I  had  better  put  some- 
body up  to  bid  for  you,  for  after  what  has  happened  the 
Jacksons  would  probably  not  let  her  go  if  they  knew 
that  you  were  going  to  be  the  purchaser." 

"Thank  you  very  much,"  Vincent  said  warmly;  "it 
will  be  a  great  weight  off  my  mind,"  and  with  a  light 
heart  he  rode  back  to  the  Orangery. 

Vincent  said  nothing  during  the  next  two  days  to  any 
of  his  friends  as  to  the  course  the  Jacksons  were  taking 
in  selling  Tony's  wife;  for  he  thought  that  if  the  news 
got  about,  some  of  his  friends  who  had  heard  the  cir- 
cumstances might  go  down  to  the  auction  and  make  such 
a  demonstration  that  Jackson  would  be  obliged  to  with- 
draw Dinah  from  the  sale,  in  which  case  he  would  no 
doubt  dispose  of  her  privately.  On  the  Saturday  he 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  into  Eichmond,  telling  Dan 
to  meet  him  there.  At  the  hour  the  sale  was  announced 
he  went  to  the  yard  where  it  was  to  take  place. 

This  was  a  somewhat  quiet  and  secluded  place;  for  al- 
though the  sale  of  slaves  was  permitted  by  law  in  Vir- 
ginia, at  any  rate  these  auctions  were  conducted  quietly 
and  with  as  little  publicity  as  possible.  For  although 
the  better  classes  still  regarded  slavery  as  a  necessary  in- 
stitution, they  were  conscious  that  these  sales,  involving 
as  they  did  the  separation  of  families,  were  indefensible, 
and  the  more  thoughtful  would  gladly  have  seen  them 
abolished,  and  a  law  passed  forbidding  the  sale  of 
negroes  save  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  estate  upon  which 
they  worked,  an  exception  only  being  made  in  the  case 
of  gross  misconduct.  Many  of  the  slave-owners,  indeed, 
forbade  all  flogging  upon  their  estates,  and  punished  re- 
fractory slaves,  in  the  first  place,  by  the  cutting  off  of 
the  privileges  they  enjoyed  in  the  way  of  holidays,  and 


36  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

if  this  did  not  answer,  threatened  to  sell  them — a  threat 
which  was,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases,  quite  sufficient 
to  insure  good  behavior;  for  the  slaves  were  well  aware 
of  the  difference  between  life  in  the  well-managed  estab- 
lishments in  Virginia  and  that  in  some  of  the  other 
Southern  States.  Handing  his  horse  to  Dan,  Vincent 
joined  a  knot  of  four  or  five  of  his  acquaintances  who  had 
strolled  in  from  mere  curiosity. 

There  were  some  thirty  or  forty  men  in  the  yard,  a 
few  of  whom  had  come  in  for  the  purpose  of  buying;  but 
the  great  majority  had  only  attended  for  the  sake  of 
passing  an  idle  hour.  Slaves  had  fallen  in  value;  for  al- 
though all  in  the  South  professed  their  confidence  that 
the  law  would  never  attempt  by  force  of  arms  to  prevent 
their  secession,  it  was  felt  that  slave  property  would  in 
future  be  more  precarious,  for  the  North  would  not  im- 
probably repeal  the  laws  for  the  arrest  of  fugitive  slaves,^ 
and  consequently  all  runaways  who  succeeded  in  crossing 
the  border  would  be  lost  to  their  masters. 

Upon  the  other  side  of  the  yard  Vincent  saw  Andrew 
Jackson  talking  to  two  or  three  men  who  were  strangers 
to  him,  and  who,  he  guessed,  were  buyers  from  some  of 
the  more  southern  States.  There  were  in  all  twelve  lots 
to  be  disposed  of.  Of  these  two  or  three  were  hands 
who  were  no  longer  fit  for  field  work,  and  who  were 
bought  at  very  low  prices  by  men  who  owned  but  a  few 
acres  of  land,  and  who  could  utilize  them  for  odd  jobs 
requiring  but  little  strength.  Then  there  was  a  stir  of 
attention.  Dinah  Moore  took  her  stand  upon  the  plat- 
form, with  her  baby  in  her  arms.  The  message  which 
Dan  had  conveyed  from  Vincent  to  -her  husband  had 
given  her  some  hope,  and  though  she  looked  scared  and 
frightened  as  she  clasped  her  babe  to  her  breast,  she  was 
not  filled  with  such  utter  despair  as  would  otherwise 
have  been  the  case. 


WITH  LEE  TN  VIRGINIA.  37 

The  auctioneer  stated  the  advantages  of  the  lot  in  the 
same  business-like  tone  as  if  he  had  been  selling  a  horse: 

"Lot  6.  Negro  wench,  Dinah;  age  twenty-two;  with 
male  child.  Strong  and  well  made,  as  you  see,  gentle- 
men; fit  for  field  work,  or  could  be  made  a  useful  hand 
about  a  house;  said  to  be  handy  and  good-tempered. 
Now,  gentlemen,  what  shall  we  say  for  this  desirable 
lot?" 

One  of  the  men  standing  by  Andrew  Jackson  bid  a 
hundred  dollars.  The  bid  was  raised  to  a  hundred  and 
fifty  by  a  rough-looking  fellow  standing  in  front  of  the 
platform.  For  some  time  the  bidding  was  confined  to 
these  two,  and  it  rose  until  it  reached  seven  hundred  and 
fifty,  at  which  point  the  man  near  the  platform  retired, 
and  there  was  a  pause. 

Vincent  felt  uncomfortable.  He  had  already  been 
round  to  Mr.  Kenfrew,  who  had  told  him  that  he  had 
deputed  an  agent  to  buy;  and  until  the  man  near  the 
platform  stopped  he  had  supposed  that  he  was  the  solici- 
tor's agent. 

"Now,  gentlemen/'  the  auctioneer  said,  "surely  you 
are  not  going  to  let  this  desirable  piece  of  property  go 
for  seven-fifty?  She  would  be  cheap  at  double  the  price. 
I  have  sold  worse  articles  for  three  thousand." 

"I  will  go  another  twenty-five  dollars/'  a  tall  man  in 
homespun  and  a  broad  planter's  straw  hat  said  quietly. 

The  contest  now  recommenced,  and  by  bids  of  twenty- 
five  dollars  at  a  time  the  amount  was  raised  to  twelve 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

"That's  enough  for  me/'  the  man  standing  by  Andrew 
Jackson  said;  "he  may  have  her  at  twelve-fifty,  and  dear 
enough,  too,  as  times  go/' 

"Will  any  one  else  make  an  offer?"  the  auctioneer 
asked.     There  was  no  response,  and  the  hammer  fell. 

"What  name?" 


38  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"Nathaniel  Forster,"  the  tall  man  said;  and  advancing 
to  the  table  he  counted  out  a  roll  of  notes  and  gave  them 
to  the  auctioneer,  who  handed  to  him  a  formal  note  cer- 
tifying to  his  having  duly  and  legally  purchased  Dinah 
Moore  and  her  infant,  late  the  property  of  Andrew  Jack, 
son,  Esquire,  of  the  Cedars,  State  of  Virginia. 

The  purchaser  had  evidently  made  up  his  mind  before- 
hand to  secure  the  lot,  for  he  handed  a  parcel  he  had 
been  holding  to  Dinah,  and  said  briefly,  "Slip  those 
things  on,  my  lass/' 

The  poor  girl,  who  had  before  been  simply  attired  in 
the  scantiest  of  petticoats,  retired  to  a  corner  of  the  yard, 
and  speedily  came  forward  again  dressed  in  a  neat  cotton 
gown.  There  were  several  joking  remarks  made  by  the 
bystanders,  but  Dinah's  new  master  took  no  notice  of 
them,  but  with  a  motion  of  his  hand  to  her  to  follow  him, 
walked  out  of  the  yard. 

A  minute  later  Vincent  followed,  and  although  he  had 
no  doubt  that  the  man  was  the  agent  Mr.  Eenfrew  had 
employed,  he  did  not  feel  thoroughly  satisfied  until  he 
saw  them  enter  the  lawyer's  office.  He  quickly  followed. 
They  had  just  entered  the  private  room  of  Mr.  Eenfrew. 

"That's  right,  Wingfield,"  the  lawyer  said.  "You  see 
we  have  settled  the  business  satisfactorily,  and  I  think 
you  have  got  a  fairly  cheap  bargain.  Just  wait  a  mo- 
ment and  we  will  complete  the  transaction." 

Dinah  gave  a  start  as  Vincent  entered,  but  with  the 
habitual  self-repression  of  a  slave  she  stood  quietly  in  the 
corner  to  which  she  had  withdrawn  at  the  other  end  of 
the  room. 

The  lawyer  was  busy  drawing  up  a  document,  and 
touching  the  bell  ordered  a  clerk  to  go  across  to  Mr. 
Rawlins,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  ask  him  to  step  across 
the  road. 

In  a  minute  Mr.  Rawlins  entered. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  39 

iil  want  you -to  witness  a  deed  of  sale  of  a  slave,"  Mr« 
Renfrew  said.  "Here  are  the  particulars:  'Nathaniel 
Forster  sells  to  Vincent  Wingfield  his  slave,  Dinah  Moore 
and  her  male  infant,  for  the  sum  of  fourteen  hundred 
dollars.'  These  are  the  parties,  Forster,  sign  this  re- 
ceipt." 

The  man  did  so.  The  justice  put  his  signature  as 
witness  to  the  transaction,  dropped  into  his  pocket  the 
fee  of  five  dollars  that  the  lawyer  handed  to  him,  and  with- 
out a  word  strolled  out  again. 

"There,  Dinah,"  Mr.  Renfrew  said,  "Mr.  Wingfield  is 
now  your  master." 

The  girl  ran  forward,  fell  on  her  knees  before  Vincent, 
seized  his  hand  and  kissed  it,  sobbing  out  her  thanks  as 
she  did  so. 

"There,  that  will  do,  Dinah,"  the  lawyer  said,  seeing 
that  Vincent  was  confused  by  her  greeting.  "I  think 
you  are  a  lucky  girl,  and  have  made  a  good  exchange  for 
the  Orangery  instead  of  the  Cedars.  I  don't  suppose  you 
will  find  Mr,  Wingfield  a  very  hard  master.  What  he  is 
going  to  do  with  you  I  am  sure  I  don't  know." 

Vincent  now  went  to  the  door  and  called  in  Dan  and 
told  him  to  take  Dinah  to  the  Orangery,  then  mounting 
his  horse  he  rode  off  home  to  prepare  his  mother  for  the 
reception  of  his  new  purchase. 


40  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 


CHAPTEE  III. 

AIDING   A    RUNAWAY. 

44 Well,  you  are  an  extraordinary  boy,  Vincent,"  Mrs, 
Wingfield  said  as  her  son  told  her  the  story,  while  his 
sisters  burst  into  fits  of  laughter  at  the  idea  of  Vincent 
owning  a  female  slave  with  a  baby.  "Why  did  you  not 
tell  me  that  you  wanted  the  money  instead  of  going  to  Mr. 
Eenfrew?  I  shall  tell  him  I  am  very  angry  with  him  for 
letting  you  have  it  for  such  a  purpose." 

"I  was  not  sure  whether  you  would  let  me  have  it, 
mother;  and  if  you  had  refused,  and  I  had  got  it  after- 
ward from  Mr.  Eenfrew,  I  should  not  have  liked  to  bring 
her  home  here." 

"That  would  have  been  fun,"  Annie  said.  "Fancy 
Vincent's  troubles  with  a  female  slave  on  his  hands  and 
nowhere  to  put  her.  What  would  you  have  done,  Vin- 
cent?" 

"I  suppose  I  could  have  got  a  home  for  her  some- 
where," Vincent  said  quietly.  "I  don't  think  there 
would  have  been  any  difficulty  about  that.  Still  I  am 
glad  I  didn't  have  to  do  so,  and  one  slave  more  or  less 
can  make  no  difference  here." 

"Not  at  all,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  said;  "I  dare  say  Chloe 
will  find  something  for  her  to  do  in  the  way  of  washing, 
and  such  other  light  work  that  she  is  fit  for  about  the 
house.  It  is  not  that,  but  it  is  years  since  a  slave  was 
brought  into  the  Orangery;  never  since  I  can  remember. 
We  raise  more  than  we  want  ourselves;  and  when  I  see 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  41 

all  those  children  about,  I  wonder  sometimes  what  on 
earth  we  are  to  find  for  them  all  to  do.  Still,  it  was  a 
scandalous  thing  of  that  man  Jackson  selling  the  girl  to 
punish  her  husband;  and  as  you  say  it  was  your  foolish 
interference  in  the  matter  that  brought  it  about,  so  I  do 
not  know  that  I  can  blame  you  for  doing  what  you  can  to 
set  the  matter  straight.  Still,  except  that  the  knowledge 
that  she  is  here  and  will  be  well  treated  will  be  a  comfort 
to  the  man,  I  do  not  see  that  he  will  be  much  the  better 
off,  unless  indeed  the  Jacksons  should  try  to  sell  him 
also,  in  which  case  I  suppose  you  would  want  to  buy 
him." 

"I  am  afraid  they  won't  do  that,  mother.  Still,  some- 
how or  other,  in  time  they  may  come  together  again." 

"I  dou't  see  how  they  can,  Vincent.  However  we  need 
not  think  of  that  now.  At  any  rate  I  hope  there  will  be 
no  further  opportunity  for  your  mixing  yourself  up  in 
this  business.  You  have  made  two  bitter  enemies  now, 
and  although  I  do  not  see  that  such  people  as  these  can 
do  you  any  harm,  it  is  always  well  not  to  make  enemies, 
especially  in  times  like  these  when  no  one  can  foresee 
exactly  what  may  occur." 

And  so  Dinah  Moore  became  an  inmate  of  the  Orangery; 
and  though  the  girls  had  laughed  at  their  brother, 
they  were  very  kind  to  her  when  she  arrived  with  Dan, 
and  made  much  of  her  and  of  her  baby.  The  same  night 
Dan  went  over  to  the  Cedars,  and  managed  to  have  an 
interview  with  Tony,  and  to  tell  him  that  his  wife  had 
been  bought  by  Vincent.  The  joy  of  the  negro  was  ex- 
treme. The  previous  message  had  raised  his  hopes  that 
Vincent  would  succeed  in  getting  her  bought  by  some 
one  who  would  be  kind  to  her,  but  he  knew  well  that  she 
might  nevertheless  fall  to  the  lot  of  some  higher  bidder 
and  be  taken  hundreds  of  miles  away,  and  that  he  might 
never  again  get  news  of  her  whereabouts.     He  had  then 


42  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

suffered  terrible  anxiety  all  day,  and  the  relief  of  learn- 
ing that  Vincent  himself  had  bought  her,  and  that  she 
was  now  installed  as  a  house  servant  at  the  Orangery,  but 
a  few  miles  away,  was  quite  overpowering,  and  for  some 
minutes  he  could  only  gasp  out  his  joy  and  thankfulness. 
He  could  hope  now  that  when  better  times  came  he 
might  be  able  to  steal  away  some  night  and  meet  her, 
and  that  some  day  or  other,  though  how  he  could  not  see, 
they  might  be  reunited.  The  Jacksons  remained  in 
ignorance  that  their  former  slave  was  located  so  near  to 
them. 

It  was  for  this  reason  that  Mr.  Renfrew  had  instructed 
his  agent  to  buy  her  in  his  own  name  instead  of  that  of 
Vincent;  and  the  Jacksons,  having  no  idea  of  the  transfer 
that  had  subsequently  taken  place,  took  no  further  inter- 
est in  the  matter,  believing  that  they  had  achieved  their 
object  of  torturing  Tony,  and  avenging  upon  him  the 
humiliation  that  Andrew  had  suffered  at  Vincent's  hands. 
Had  they  questioned  their  slaves,  and  had  these  an- 
swered them  truly,  they  would  have  discovered  the  facts. 
For  although  Tony  himself  said  no  word  to  any  one  of 
what  he  had  learned  from  Dan,  the  fact  that  Dinah  was 
at  the  Orangery  was  speedily  known  among  the  slaves; 
for  the  doings  at  one  plantation  were  soon  conveyed  to 
the  negroes  on  the  others  by  the  occasional  visits  which 
they  paid  at  night  to  each  other's  quarters,  or  to  some 
common  rendezvous  far  removed  from  interruption. 

Occasionally  Tony  and  Dinah  met.  Dan  would  come 
up  late  in  the  evening  to  the  house,  and  a  nod  to  Dinah 
would  be  sufficient  to  send  her  flying  down  the  garden  to 
a  clump  of  shrubs,  where  he  would  be  waiting  for  her. 
At  these  stolen  meetings  they  were  perfectly  happy;  for 
Tony  said  no  word  to  her  of  the  misery  of  his  life — how 
he  was  always  put  to  the  hardest  work  and  beaten  on  the 
smallest  pretext,  how  in  fact  his  life  was  made  so  unen- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  43 

durable  that  the  idea  of  running  away  and  taking  to  the 
swamps  was  constantly  present  to  him. 

As  to  making  his  way  north,  it  did  not  enter  his  mind 
as  possible.  Slaves  did  indeed  at  times  succeed  in  travel- 
ing through  the  Northern  States  and  making  their  way 
to  Canada,  but  this  was  only  possible  by  means  of  the 
organization  known  as  the  underground  railway,  an  asso- 
ciation consisting  of  a  number  of  good  people  who  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  purpose,  giving  shelter  to  fugi- 
tive slaves  during  the  day,  and  then  passing  them  on  to 
the  next  refuge  during  the  night.  For  in  the  Northern, 
States  as  well  as  the  Southern  any  negro  unprovided  with, 
papers  showing  that  he  was  a  free  man  was  liable  to  be 
arrested  and  sent  back  to  the  South  a  prisoner,  large  re- 
wards being  given  to  those  who  arrested  them. 

As  he  was  returning  from  one  of  these  interviews  with 
his  wife,  Tony  was  detected  by  the  overseer,  who  was 
strolling  about  round  the  slaves'  quarters,  and  was  next 
morning  flogged  until  he  became  insensible.  So  terrible 
was  the  punishment  that  for  some  days  he  was  unable  to 
walk.  As  soon  as  he  could  get  about  he  was  again  set  to 
work,  but  the  following  morning  he  was  found  to  be 
missing.  Andrew  Jackson  at  once  rode  into  Richmond, 
and  in  half  an  hour  placards  and  handbills  were  printed 
offering  a  reward  for  his  capture.  These  were  not  only 
circulated  in  the  neighborhood,  but  were  sent  off  to  all 
the  towns  and  villages  through  which  Tony  might  be  ex- 
pected to  pass  in  the  endeavor  to  make  his  way  north. 
Vincent  soon  learned  from  Dan  what  had  taken  place. 

"You  have  no  idea,  I  suppose,  Dan,  as  to  which  way 
he  is  likely  to  go?" 

Dan  shook  his  head. 

"Me  suppose,  massa,  dat  most  likely  he  gone  and  hid- 
den in  le  gre?;t  woods  by  de  James  Eiver  Bery  dif- 
ficult to  find,  him  dere." 


44  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"Difficult  to  find  him,  no  doubt,"  Vincent  agreed. 
"But  he  could  not  stop  there  long — he  would  find  noth- 
ing to  eat  in  the  woods;  and  though  he  might  perhaps 
support  himself  for  a  time  on  corn  or  roots  from  the 
clearings  scattered  about  through  the  James  Peninsula, 
he  must  sooner  or  later  be  caught." 

"Dar  are  runaways  in  de  woods  now,  Marse  Vincent," 
Dan  said;  "some  ob  dem  hab  been  dar  for  months." 

"But  how  do  they  live,  Dan?" 

"Well,  sar,  you  see  dey  hab  friends  on  de  plantations, 
and  sometimes  at  night  one  ob  de  slaves  will  steal  away 
wid  a  basket  ob  yams  and  corn-cakes  and  oder  things  and 
put  dem  down  in  a  certain  place  in  de  forest,  and  next 
morning,  sure  enough,  dey  will  be  gone.  Dangerous 
work  dat,  massa;  because  if  dey  caught  with  food,  it 
known  for  sure  dat  dey  carry  it  to  runaway,  and  den  you 
know  dey  pretty  well  flog  the  life  out  ob  dem." 

"Yes,  I  know,  Dan;  it  is  a  very  serious  matter  hiding 
a  runaway  slave,  and  even  a  white  man  would  be  very 
heavily  punished,  and  perhaps  lynched,  if  caught  in  the 
act.  Well,  make  what  inquiries  you  can  among  the 
slaves,  and  find  out  if  you  can  whether  any  of  those 
Jacksons  have  an  idea  which  way  Tony  has  gone.  But  do 
not  go  yourself  on  to  Jackson's  place;  if  you  were  caught 
there  now  it  would  be  an  awkward  matter  for  both  of  us." 

"I  will  find  out,  Marse  Vincent;  but  I  don't  s'pose 
Tony  said  a  word  to  any  of  the  others.  He  know  well 
enough  dat  de  Jacksons  question  ebery  one  pretty  sharp, 
and  perhaps  flog  dem  all  round  to  find  out  if  dey  know 
anything.  He  keep  it  to  himself  about  going  away,  for 
suah.M 

The  Jacksons  kept  up  a  vigorous  hunt  after  their  slave, 
and  day  after  day  parties  of  men  ranged  through  the 
woods,  but  without  discovering  any  traces  of  him. 
Bloodhounds  were   employed  the  first   day,  but  before 


WITH  LEtf  IN  VIRGINIA.  45 

these  could  be  fetched  from  Eichmond  the  scent  had 
grown  cold;  for  Tony  had  gone  off  as  soon  as  the  slaves- 
had  been  shut  up  for  the  nighty  and  had,  directly  he  left 
the  hut,  wrapped  leaves  round  his  feet,  therefore  the 
hounds,  when  they  arrived  from  Eichmond,  were  unable 
to  take  up  the  scei.t. 

A  week  after  Tony's  escape,  Vincent  returned  late  one 
evening  from  a  visit  to  some  friends.  Dan,  as  he  took: 
his  horse,  whispered  to  him:  "Stop  a  little  on  your  way 
to  house,  Marse  Vincent;  me  hab  something  to  tell  you." 

"What  is  it,  Dan?"  Vincent  asked,  as  the  lad,  after 
putting  up  his  horse  in  the  stable,  came  running  up  to 
him. 

"Me  have  seen  Tony,  sah.  He  in  de  shrubs  ober  dar. 
He  want  to  see  Dinah,  but  me  no  take  message  till  me 
tell  you  about  him.  He  half  starved,  sah;  me  give  him 
some  yams." 

"That's  right,  Dan." 

"He  pretty  nigh  desperate,  sah;  he  say  dey  hunt  him 
like  wild  beast." 

"I  will  see  him,  Dan.  If  I  can  help  him  in  any  way  I  will 
do  so.  Unfortunately  I  do  not  know  any  of  the  people 
who  help  to  get  slaves  away,  so  I  can  give  him  no  advice 
as  to  the  best  way  to  proceed.  Still  I  might  talk  it  over 
with  him.  When  I  have  joined  him,  do  you  go  up  to  the 
house  and  tell  Chloe  from  me  to  give  you  a  pile  of  corn- 
cakes — it's  no  use  giving  him  flour,  for  he  would  be 
afraid  to  light  a  fire  to  cook  it.  Tell  her  to  give  you,  too, 
any  cold  meat  there  may  be  in  the  house.  Don't  tell 
Dinah  her  husband  is  here  till  we  have  talked  the  matter 
over." 

Dan  led  Vincent  up  to  a  clump  of  bushes. 

"It  am  all  right,  Tony,"  he  said;  "here  is  Massa  Vin- 
cent come  to  see  you." 

The  bushes  parted  and  Tony  came  out  into  the  full 


46  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

moonlight.  Ho  looked  haggard  and  worn;  his  clothes 
Were  torn  into  strips  by  the  bushes. 

"My  poor  fellow/'  Vincent  said  kindly,  "I  am  sorry  to 
Bee  you  in  such  a  state." 

A  great  sob  broke  from  the  black. 

"De  Lord  bress  you,  sah,  for  your  goodness  and  for 
saving  Dinah  from  de  hands  of  dose  debils!  Now  she 
safe  wid  you  and  de  child,  Tony  no  care  bery  much  what 
come  to  him — de  sooner  he  dead  de  better.  He  wish  dat 
one  day  when  dey  flog  him  dey  had  kill  him  altogether; 
den  all  de  trouble  at  an  end.  Dey  hunt  him  ebery  day 
with  dogs  and  guns,  and  soon  they  catch  him.  No  can 
go  on  much  longer  like  dis.  To-day  me  nearly  gib  my- 
self up.  Den  me  thought  me  like  to  see  Dinah  once 
more  to  say  good-by,  so  make  great  effort  and  ran  a  bit 
furder." 

"I  have  been  thinking  whether  it  would  be  possible  to 
plan  some  way  for  your  escape,  Tony." 

The  negro  shook  his  head. 

"Dar  never  escape,  sah,  but  to  get  to  Canada;  dat  too 
far  any  way.  Not  possible  to  walk  all  dat  way  and  get 
food  by  de  road.     Suah  to  be  caught." 

"No,  I  do  not  think  it  will  be  possible  to  escape  that 
way,  Tony.  The  only  possible  plan  would  be  to  get  you 
on  board  some  ship  going  to  England." 

"Ships  not  dare  take  negro  on  board/'  Tony  said. 
"Me  heard  dat  said  many  times — dat  against  de  law." 

"Yes,  I  know  it's  against  the  law,"  Vincent  said,  "and 
it's  against  the  law  my  talking  to  you  here,  Tony;  but 
you  see  it's  done.  The  difficulty  is  how  to  do  it.  All 
vessels  are  searched  before  they  start,  and  an  officer  goes 
down  with  them  past  Fortress  Monroe  to  see  that  they 
take  no  one  on  board.  Still  it  is  possible.  Of  course 
there  is  risk  in  the  matter;  but  there  is  risk  in  every- 
thing.    I  will  think  it  over.     Do  not  lose  heart.     Dan 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  47 

will  be  back  directly  with  enough  food  to  last  you  for 
some  days.  If  I  were  you  I  would  take  refuge  this  time 
in  White  Oak  Swamp.  It  is  much  nearer,  and  I  hear  it 
has  already  been  searched  from  end  to  end,  so  they  are 
not  likely  to  try  again ;  and  if  you  hear  them  you  can,  if 
you  are  pressed,  cross  the  Chickahominy  and  make  down 
through  the  woods.  Do  you  come  again  on  Saturday 
evening — that  will  give  me  four  days  to  see  what  I  can 
do.  I  may  not  succeed,  you  know;  for  the  penalty  is  so 
severe  against  taking  negroes  on  board  that  I  may  not  be 
able  to  find  any  one  willing  to  risk  it.  But  it  is  worth 
trying." 

"De  Lord  bless  you,  sah!"  Tony  said.  "I  will  do  juss 
what  you  tell  me;  but  don't  you  run  no  risks  for  me,  my 
life  ain't  worth  dat." 

"I  will  take  care,  Tony.  And  now  here  comes  Dan 
with  the  provisions." 

"Can  I  see  Dinah,  sah?"  Tony  pleaded. 

"I  think  you  had  better  not,"  Vincent  replied.  "You 
see  the  Jacksons  might  at  any  moment  learn  that  she  is 
here,  and  then  she  might  be  questioned  whether  she  had 
seen  you  since  your  escape;  and  it  would  be  much  better 
for  her  to  be  able  to  deny  having  done  so.  But  you  shall 
see  her  next  time  you  come,  whether  I  am  able  to  make 
any  arrangements  for  your  escape  or  not.  I  will  let  her 
know  to-morrow  morning  that  I  have  seen  you,  and  that 
you  are  safe  at  present." 

The  next  morning  Vincent  rode  over  to  City  Point, 
where  ships  with  a  large  draught  of  water  generally 
brought  up,  either  transferring  their  goods  into  smaller 
craft  to  be  sent  up  by  river  to  Eichmond,  or  to  be  carried 
on  by  rail  through  the  town  of  Petersburg.  Leaving  his 
horse  at  a  house  near  the  river,  he  crossed  the  James  in  a 
boat  to  City  Point.  There  were  several  vessels  lying 
here,  and  for  some  hours  he  hung  about  the  wharf  watch- 


48  WITH  LEE  IN  VIEGmiA. 

ing  the  process  of  discharging.  By  the  end  of  that  time 
he  had  obtained  a  view  of  all  the  captains,  and  had 
watched  them  as  they  gave  their  orders,  and  had  at  last 
come  to  the  conclusion  as  to  which  would  be  the  most 
likely  to  suit  his  purpose.  Having  made  up  his  mind,  he 
waited  until  the  one  he  had  fixed  upon  came  ashore.  He 
was  a  man  of  some  thirty-five  years  old,  with  a  pleasant 
face  and  good-natured  smile.  He  first  went  into  some 
offices  on  the  wharf,  and  half  an  hour  later  came  out  and 
walked  toward  the  railway  station.  Vincent  at  once  fol- 
lowed him,  and  as  he  overtook  him  said: 

"I  want  very  much  to  speak  to  you,  sir,  if  you  could 
spare  me  a  minute  or  two." 

"Certainly,"  the  sailor  said  with  some  surprise.  "The 
train  for  Petersburg  does  not  go  for  another  half-hour. 
"What  can  I  do  for  you?" 

"My  name  is  Vincent  "Wingfield.  My  father  was  an 
English  officer,  and  my  mother  is  the  owner  of  some  large 
estates  near  Richmond.  I  am  most  anxious  to  get  a  per- 
son in  whom  I  am  interested  on  board  ship,  and  I  do  not 
know  how  to  set  about  it." 

"There's  no  difficulty  about  that,"  the  captain  said, 
smiling;  "you  have  only  to  go  to  an  office  and  pay  for  his 
passage  to  where  he  wants  to  go." 

"I  can't  do  that,"  Vincent  replied;  "for  unfortunately 
it  is  against  the  law  for  any  captain  to  take  him." 

"You  mean  he  is  a  negro?"  the  captain  asked,  stop- 
ping short  in  his  walk  and  looking  sharply  at  Vincent. 

"Yes,  that  is  what  I  mean,"  Vincent  said.  "He  is  a 
negro  who  has  been  brutally  ill-treated  and  has  run  away 
from  his  master,  and  I  would  willingly  give  five  hundred 
dollars  to  get  him  safely  away." 

"This  is  a  very  serious  business  in  which  you  are 
meddling,  young  sir,"  the  sailor  said.  "Putting  aside 
the  consequences  to  yourself,  you  are  asking  me  to  break 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  49 

the  law  and  to  run  the  risk  of  the  confiscation  of  my  ship. 
Even  if  I  were  willing  to  do  what  you  propose  it  would 
be  impossible,  for  the  ship  will  be  searched  from  end  to 
end  before  the  hatches  are  closed,  and  an  official  will  be 
on  board  until  we  discharge  the  pilot  after  getting  well 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  river." 

"Yes,  I  know  that,"  Vincent  replied;  "but  my  plan 
was  to  take  a  boat  and  go  out  beyond  the  sight  of  land, 
and  then  to  put  him  on  board  after  you  have  got  well 
away." 

"That  might  be  managed,  certainly,"  the  captain  said. 
"It  would  be  contrary  to  my  duty  to  do  anything  that 
would  risk  the  property  of  my  employers;  but  if  when  I 
am  out  at  sea  a  boat  came  alongside,  and  a  passenger 
came  on  board,  it  would  be  another  matter.  I  suppose, 
young  gentleman,  that  you  would  not  interfere  in  such  a 
business,  and  run  the  risk  that  you  certainly  would  run 
if  detected,  unless  you  were  certain  that  this  was  a  de- 
serving case,  and  that  tne  man  has  committed  no  sort  of 
crime;  for  I  would  not  receive  on  board  my  ship  a  fugi- 
tive from  justice,  whether  he  was  black  or  white." 

"It  is  indeed  a  deserving  case,"  Vincent  said  earnestly. 
"The  poor  fellow  has  the  misfortune  of  belonging  to  one 
of  the  worst  masters  in  the  State.  He  has  been  cruelly 
flogged  on  many  occasions,  and  was  finally  driven  to  run 
away  by  their  selling  his  wife  and  child." 

"The  brutes!"  the  sailor  said.  "How  you  people  can 
allow  such  things  to  be  done  is  a  mystery  to  me.  Well, 
lad,  under  those  circumstances  I  will  agree  to  do  what 
you  ask  me,  and  if  your  boat  comes  alongside  when  I  am 
so  far  away  from  land  that  it  cannot  be  seen  I  will  take 
the  man  to  England." 

"Thank  you  very  much  indeed,"  Vincent  said;  "you 
will  be  doing  a  good  action.  Upon  what  day  do  you 
sail?" 


50  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  shall  drop  down  on  Monday  into  Hampton  Eoads, 
and  shall  get  up  sail  at  daylight  next  morning.  I  shall 
pass  Fortress  Monroe  at  about  seven  in  the  morning, 
and  shall  sail  straight  out." 

"And  how  shall  I  know  your  ship?"  Vincent  asked. 
"There  may  be  others  starting  just  about  the  same  time." 

The  sailor  thought  for  a  moment.  "V/hen  I  am  four 
or  five  miles  out  I  will  hoist  my  owner's  flag  at  the  fore- 
mast-head. It  is  a  red  flag  with  a  white  ball,  so  you  will 
be  able  to  make  it  out  a  considerable  distance  away.  You 
must  not  be  less  than  ten  or  twelve  miles  out,  for  the 
pilot  often  does  not  leave  the  ship  till  she  is  some  miles 
past  Fortress  Monroe,  and  the  official  will  not  leave  the 
ship  till  he  does.  I  will  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  you, 
but  I  cannot  lose  my  time  in  waiting.  If  you  do  not 
come  alongside  I  shall  suppose  that  you  have  met  with 
some  interruption  to  your  plans." 

"Thank  you  very  much,  sir.  Unless  something  goes 
wrong  I  shall  be  alongside  on  Tuesday." 

"That's  settled,  then,"  the  captain  said,  "and  I  must 
be  of!,  or  else  I  shall  lose  my  train.  By  the  way,  when 
you  come  alongside  do  not  make  any  sign  that  you  have 
met  me  before.  It  is  just  as  well  that  none  of  my  crew 
should  know  that  it  is  a  planned  thing,  for  if  we  ever 
happened  to  put  in  here  again  they  might  blab  about  it, 
and  it  is  just  as  well  not  to  give  them  the  chance.  Good- 
by,  my  lad;  I  hope  that  all  will  go  well.  But,  you  know, 
you  are  doing  a  very  risky  thing;  for  the  assisting  a  run- 
away slave  to  escape  is  about  as  serious  an  offense  as  you 
can  commit  in  these  parts.  You  might  shoot  half  a  dozen 
men  and  get  off  scot  free,  but  if  you  were  caught  aiding 
a  runaway  to  escape  there  is  no  saying  what  might  come 
of  it." 

After  taking  leave  of  the  captain,  Vincent  recrossed 
the  river  and  rode  home.     He  had  friends  whose  fathers' 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  51 

estates  bordered  some  on  the  James  and  others  on  the  York 
River,  and  all  of  these  had  pleasure-boats.  It  was  obvi- 
ously better  to  go  down  the  York  River,  and  thence 
round  to  the  mouth  of  the  James  at  Fortress  Monroe,  as 
the  traffic  on  the  York  was  comparatively  small,  and  it 
was  improbable  that  he  would  be  noticed  either  going 
down  or  returning.  He  had  at  first  thought  of  hiring  a 
fishing-boat  from  some  of  the  free  negroes  who  made 
their  living  on  the  river.  But  he  finally  decided  against 
this;  for  the  fact  of  the  boat  being  absent  so  long  would 
attract  its  owner's  attention,  and  in  case  any  suspicion 
arose  that  the  fugitive  had  escaped  by  water,  the  hiring 
of  a  boat  by  one  who  had  already  befriended  the  slave, 
and  its  absence  for  so  long  a  time,  would  be  almost  cer- 
tain to  cause  suspicion  to  be  directed  toward  him.  He 
therefore  decided  upon  borrowing  a  boat  from  a  friend, 
and  next  morning  rode  to  the  plantation  of  the  father  of 
Harry  Furniss,  this  being  situated  on  a  convenient  posi- 
tion on  the  Pamunky,  one  of  the  branches  of  the  York 
River. 

"Are  you  using  that  sailing-boat  of  yours  at  present, 
Harry?  Because,  if  not,  I  wish  you  would  let  me  have 
the  use  of  it  for  a  week  or  so." 

"With  pleasure,  Yincent;  and  my  fishing-lines  and 
nets  as  well,  if  you  like.  We  very  seldom  use  the  boat. 
Do  you  mean  to  keep  it  here  or  move  it  higher  up  the 
river,  where  it  would  be  more  handy  for  you,  perhaps?" 

"I  think  I  would  rather  leave  it  here,  Furniss.  A 
mile  or  two  extra  to  ride  makes  no  difference.  I  suppose 
it's  in  the  water?" 

"Yes;  at  the  foot  of  the  boatnouse  stairs.  There  is  a 
padlock  and  chain.  I  will  give  you  the  key,  so  you  can 
go  off  whenever  you  like  without  bothering  to  come  up 
to  the  house.  If  you  just  call  in  at  the  stables  as  you 
ride  by,  one  of  the  boys  will  go  down  with  you  and  take 
your  horse  and  put  him  up  till  you  come  bacv  again." 


52  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"That  will  do  capitally,"  Vincent  replied.  "It  is 
Borne  time  since  I  was  on  the  water,  and  I  seem  to  have 
a  fancy  for  a  change  at  present.  One  is  sick  of  riding 
into  Richmond  and  hearing  nothing  but  politics  talked 
of  all  day.  Don't  be  alarmed  if  you  hear  at  any  time 
that  the  boat  has  not  come  back  at  night,  for  if  tide  and 
wind  are  unfavorable  at  any  time  I  might  stop  at  Cum- 
berland for  the  night.'5 

"I  have  often  had  to  do  that,"  Furniss  said.  "Be- 
sides, if  you  took  it  away  for  a  week,  I  don't  suppose 
any  one  would  notice  it;  for  no  one  goes  down  to  the 
boathouse  unless  to  get  the  boat  ready  for  a  trip." 

The  next  day  Vincent  rode  over  to  his  friend's  planta- 
tion, sending  Dan  off  an  hour  beforehand  to  bale  out  the 
boat  and  get  the  masts  and  sails  into  her  from  the  boat- 
house.  The  greater  part  of  the  next  two  days  was  spent 
on  the  water,  sometimes  sailing,  sometimes  fishing.  The 
evening  of  the  second  of  these  days  was  that  upon  which 
Vincent  had  arranged  to  meet  Tony  again,  and  an  hour 
after  dark  he  went  down  through  the  garden  to  the 
stable;  for  that  was  the  time  the  fugitive  was  to  meet 
him,  for  he  could  not  leave  his  place  of  concealment 
until  night  fell.  After  looking  at  the  horses,  and  giving 
some  instructions  to  the  negroes  in  charge,  he  returned 
to  the  shrubbery,  and,  sending  Dan  up  to  summon  Dinah, 
he  went  to  the  bushes  where  he  had  before  met  Tony. 
The  negro  came  out  as  he  approached. 

"How  are  you,  Tony?" 

"Much  better  dan  I  was,  massa.  I  hab  not  been  dis- 
turbed since  I  saw  you,  and,  thanks  to  dat  and  to  de 
good  food  and  to  massa's  kind  words,  I'm  stronger  and 
better  now,  and  ready  to  do  whatever  massa  think  best." 

"Well,  Tony,  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  think  I  have 
arranged  a  plan  by  which  you  will  be  got  safely  out  of 
the  country.     Of  course,  it  may  fail;  but  there  is  every 


WITH  LEE  IW  VIRGINIA.  53 

hope  of  success.  I  have  arranged  for  a  boat,  and  shall 
take  you  down  the  river,  and  put  you  on  board  a  ship 
bound  for  England. " 

The  black  clapped  his  hands  in  delight  at  the  news. 

"When  you  get  there  you  will  take  another  ship  out  to 
Canada,  and  as  soon  as  I  learn  from  you  that  you  are 
there,  and  what  is  your  address,  I  will  give  Dinah  her 
papers  of  freedom  and  send  her  on  to  you." 

"Oh!  massa,  it  is  too  much,"  Tony  said,  with  the  tears 
running  down  his  cheeks;  "too  much  joy  altogeder." 

"Well,  I  hope  it  will  all  come  right,  Tony.  Dinah, 
will  be  here  in  a  minute  or  two.  Do  not  keep  her  long, 
for  I  do  not  wish  her  absence  from  the  house  to  be 
observed  just  now.  Now,  listen  to  my  instructions.  Do 
you  know  the  plantation  of  Mr.  Furniss,  on  the 
Pamunky,    near  Coal  Harbor?" 

"No,  sir;  but  me  can  find  out." 

"No,  you  can't;  because  you  can't  see  any  one  or  ask 
questions.  Very  well,  then,  you  must  be  here  again  to- 
morrow night  at  the  same  hour.  Dan  will  meet  you 
here,  and  act  as  your  guide.  He  will  presently  bring 
you  provisions  for  to-morrow.  Be  sure  you  be  careful, 
Tony,  and  get  back  to  your  hiding-place  as  soon  as  you 
can,  and  lie  very  quiet  to-morrow  until  it  is  time  to 
start.  It  would  be  terrible  if  you  were  to  be  caught  now, 
just  as  we  have  arranged  for  you  to  get  away." 

On  the  following  afternoon  Vincent  told  his  mother 
that  he  was  going  over  that  evening  to  his  friend  Furniss, 
as  an  early  start  was  to  be  made  next  morning;  they 
intended  to  go  down  the  river  as  far  as  Yorktown,  if  not 
further;  that  he  certainly  should  not  be  back  for  two 
days,  and  probably  might  be  even  longer. 

"This  new  boating  freak  of  yours,  Vincent,  seems  to 
occupy  all  your  thoughts.  I  wonder  how  long  it  will 
last." 


54  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  don't  suppose  it  will  last  much  longer,  mother/' 
Vincent  said  with  a  laugh.  "Anyhow,  it  will  make  a 
jolly  change  for  a  week.  One  had  got  so  sick  of  hearing 
nothing  talked  about  but  secession  that  a  week  without 
hearing  the  word  mentioned  will  do  one  lots  of  good, 
and  I  am  sure  I  felt  that  if  one  had  much  more  of  it,  one 
would  be  almost  driven  to  take  up  the  Northern  side  just 
for  the  sake  of  a  change/' 

"We  should  all  disown  you,  Vin,"  Annie  said,  laugh- 
ing; "we  should  have  nothing  to  say  to  you,  and  you 
would  be  cut  by  all  your  friends." 

"Weil,  you  see,  a  week's  sailing  and  fishing  will  save 
me  from  all  that,  Annie;  and  I  shall  be  able  to  begin 
again  with  a  fresh  stock  of  patience." 

"I  believe  you  are  only  half  in  earnest  in  the  cause, 
Vincent,"  his  mother  said  gravely. 

"I  am  not  indeed,  mother.  I  quite  agree  with  what 
you  and  every  one  say  as  to  the  rights  of  the  State  of 
Virginia,  and  if  the  North  should  really  try  to  force  us 
and  the  other  Southern  States  to  remain  with  them,  I 
shall  be  just  as  ready  to  do  everything  I  can  as  any  one 
else;  but  I  can't  see  the  good  of  always  talking  about  it, 
and  I  think  it's  very  wrong  to  ill-treat  and  abuse  those 
who  think  the  other  way.  In  England  in  the  Civil  War 
the  people  of  the  towns  almost  all  thought  one  way,  and 
almost  all  those  of  the  counties  the  other,  and  even  now 
opinions  differ  almost  as  widely  as  to  which  was  right. 
I  hate  to  hear  people  always  laying  down  the  law  as  if 
there  could  not  possibly  be  two  sides  of  the  case,  and  as 
if  every  one  who  differed  from  them  must  be  a  rascal  and 
a  traitor.  Almost  all  the  fellows  I  know  say  that  if  it 
comes  to  fighting  they  shall  go  into  the  State  army,  and 
I  should  be  quite  willing,  if  they  would  really  take 
fellows  of  my  age  for  soldiers,  to  enlist  too;  but  that  is 
no  reason  why  one  should  not  get  sick  of  hearing  nothing 
but  one  subi-  ■';  talked  of  for  weeks." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  55 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  Vincent  started  for  his  walk 
©f  ten  miles;  for  he  had  decided  not  to  take  his  horse 
with  him,  as  he  had  no  means  of  sending  it  back,  and  its 
stay  for  three  days  in  his  friend's  stables  would  attract 
attention  to  the  fact  of  his  long  absence. 

After  about  three  hours'  walking  he  reached  the  boat- 
house,  having  seen  no  one  as  he  passed  through  the  plan- 
tation. He  took  the  oars  and  sails  from  the  boathouse 
and  placed  them  in  the  boat,  and  then  sat  down  in  the 
stern  to  await  the  coming  of  the  negroes.  In  an  hour 
they  arrived;  Tony  carrying  a  bundle  of  clothes  that 
Dan  had  by  Vincent's  orders  bought  for  him  in  Kich- 
mond,  while  Dan  carried  a  large  basket  of  provisions. 
Vincent  gave  an  exclamation  of  thankfulness  as  he  saw 
the  two  figures  appear,  for  the  day  having  been  Sunday 
he  knew  that  a  good  many  men  would  be  likely  to  join 
the  search  parties  in  hopes  of  having  a  share  in  the 
reward  offered  for  Tony's  capture,  and  he  had  felt  very 
anxious  ail  day. 

"You  sit  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  Tony,  and  do  you 
steer,  Dan.  You  make  such  a  splashing  with  your  oar 
that  we  should  be  heard  a  mile  away.  Keep  us  close  in 
shore  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees;  the  less  we  are  noticed 
the  better  at  this  time  of  night." 

Taking  the  sculls,  Vincent  rowed  quietly  away.  He 
had  often  been  out  on  boating  excursions  with  his  friends, 
and  had  learned  to  row  fairly.  During  the  last  two  days' 
he  had  diligently  instructed  Dan,  and  after  two  long 
days'  work  the  young  negro  had  got  over  the  first  diffi- 
culties, but  he  was  still  clumsy  and  awkward.  Vincent 
did  not  exert  himself.  He  knew  he  had  a  long  night's 
row  before  him,  and  he  paddled  quietly  along  with  the 
stream.  The  boat  was  a  good-sized  one,  and  when  not 
under  sail  was  generally  rowed  by  two  strong  negroes 
accustomed  to  the  work. 


56  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Sometimes  for  half  an  hour  at  a  time  Vincent  ceased 
rowing,  and  let  the  boat  drift  along  quietly.  There  wa3 
no  hurry,  for  he  had  a  day  and  two  nights  to  get  down  to 
the  moutn  of  the  river,  a  distance  of  some  seventy  miles, 
and  out  to  sea  far  enough  to  intercept  the  vessel.  At 
four  o'clock  they  arrived  at  Cumberland,  where  the 
Pamunky  and  Mattapony  Eivers  unite  and  form  the 
York  River.  Here  they  were  in  tidal  waters;  and  as  the 
tide,  though  not  strong,  was  flowing  up,  Vincent  tied  the 
boat  to  the  branch  of  a  tree,  and  lay  down  in  the  bottom 
for  an  hour's  sleep,  telling  Dan  to  wake  him  when  the 
tide  turned,  or  if  he  heard  any  noise.  Day  had  broken 
when  the  boat  drifted  round,  and  Dan  aroused  him. 

The  boat  was  rowed  off  to  the  middle  of  the  river,  as 
there  could  be  no  longer  any  attempt  at  concealment. 
Dan  now  took  the  bow  oar,  and  they  rowed  until  a  light 
breeze  sprang  up.  Vincent  then  put  up  the  mast,  and, 
having  hoisted  the  sail,  took  his  place  at  the  helm,  while 
Dan  went  forward  into  the  bow.  They  passed  several 
fishing-boats,  and  the  smoke  was  seen  curling  up  from 
the  huts  in  the  clearings  scattered  here  and  there  along 
the  shore.  The  sun  had  now  risen,  and  its  heat  was 
pleasant  after  the  damp  night  air. 

Although  the  breeze  was  light,  the  boat  made  fair  way 
with  the  tide,  and  when  the  ebb  ceased  at  about  ten 
^/clock  the  mouth  of  the  river  was  but  a  few  miles  away. 
The  mast  was  lowered  and  the  sails  stowed.  The  boat 
was  then  rowed  into  a  little  creek  and  tied  up  to  the 
bushes.  The  basket  of  provisions  was  opened,  and  a 
hearty  meal  enjoyed,  Tony  being  now  permitted  for  the 
first  time  to  sit  up  in  the  boat.  After  the  meal  Vincent 
and  Dan  lay  down  for  a  long  sleep,  while  Tony,  who  had 
slept  some  hours  during  the  night,  kept  watch. 

At  four  in  the  afternoon  tide  again  slackened,  and  as 
soon  as  it  had  fairly  turned  they  pushed  out  from  the 


WITH  LEW  m  VIRGINIA.  57 

creek  and  again  set  sail.  In  three  hours  they  were  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  A  short  distance  out  they  saw  sev- 
eral boats  fishing,  and  dropping  anchor  a  short  distance 
away  from  these,  they  lowered  their  sail,  and  taking  the 
fishing-lines  from  the  locker  of  the  boat,  set  to  to  fish. 
As  soon  as  it  was  quite  dark  the  anchor  was  hauled  up, 
and  Vincent  and  Dan  took  the  oars,  the  wind  having  now 
completely  dropped.  For  some  time  they  rowed  steadily, 
keeping  the  land  in  sight  on  their  right  hand. 

Tony  was  most  anxious  to  help,  but  as  he  had  never  had 
an  oar  in  his  hand  in  his  life,  Vincent  thought  that  he 
would  do  more  harm  than  good.  It  was,  he  knew,  some 
ten  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  York  Eiver  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  at  the  entrance  to  Hampton  Koads,  and  after 
rowing  for  three  hours  he  thought  that  he  could  not  be 
far  from  that  point,  and  therefore  turned  the  boat's  head 
out  toward  the  sea.  They  rowed  until  they  could  no 
longer  make  out  the  land  astern,  and  then  laying  in  their 
oars  waited  till  the  morning,  Vincent  sitting  in  the  stern 
and  often  nodding  off  to  sleep,  while  the  two  negroes 
kept  up  a  constant  conversation  in  the  bow. 

As  soon  as  it  was  daylight  the  oars  were  again  got  out. 
They  could  clearly  make  out  the  outline  of  the  coast,  and 
saw  the  break  in  the  shore  that  marked  the  entrance  to 
Hampton  Koads.  There  was  a  light  breeze  now,  but 
Vincent  would  not  hoist  the  sail  lest  it  might  attract  the 
attention  of  some  one  on  shore.  He  did  not  think  the 
boat  itself  could  be  seen,  as  they  were  some  eight  or  nine 
miles  from  the  land.  They  rowed  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  when  Vincent  saw  the  white  sails  of  a  ship  coming 
out  from  the  entrance. 

The  breeze  was  so  light  that  she  would,  he  thought, 
be  nearly  three  hours  before  she  reached  the  spot  where 
they  were  now,  and  whether  she  headed  to  the  right  or 
left  of  it  he  would  have  plenty  of  time  to  cut  her  off, 


58  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 

For  another  two  hours  he  and  Dan  roved  steadily.  The 
wind  had  fresnened  a  good  deal,  and  the  ship  was  now 
coming  up  fast  to  them.  Two  others  had  come  out  after 
her,  hut  were  some  miles  astern.  They  had  already  made 
out  that  the  ship  was  flying  a  flag  at  her  masthead,  and 
although  they  nad  not  oeen  able  to  distinguish  its  colors, 
Vincent  felt  sure  that  it  was  the  right  ship;  for  he  felt 
certain  that  the  captain  would  get  up  sail  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, so  as  to  come  up  with  them  before  any  other  vessels 
came  out.  They  had  somewhat  altered  their  course,  to 
put  themselves  in  line  with  the  vessel.  When  she  was 
within  a  distance  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  Vincent  was 
able  to  make  out  the  flag,  and  knew  that  it  was  the  right 
one. 

"There's  the  ship,  Tony,"  he  said;  "it  is  all  right,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  you  will  be  on  your  way  to  England.'51 

Tony  had  already  changed  his  tattered  garments  for 
the  suit  of  sailor's  clothes  that  Dan  had  bought  for  him. 
Vincent  had  given  him  full  instructions  as  to  the  course 
he  was  to  pursue.  The  ship  was  hound  for  Liverpool;  on 
his  arrival  there  he  was  at  once  to  go  round  the  docks 
and  take  a  passage  in  the  steerage  of  the  next  steamer 
going  to  Canada. 

"The  fare  will  be  about  twenty-five  dollars,"  he  said. 
"When  you  get  to  Canada  you  will  land  at  Quebec,  and 
you  had  better  go  on  by  rail  to  Montreal,  where  you  will, 
I  think,  find  it  easier  to  get  work  than  at  Quebec.  As 
soon  as  you  get  a  place  you  are  likely  to  stop  in,  get 
somebody  to  write  for  you  to  me,  giving  me  your  address. 
Here  are  a  hundred  dollars,  which  will  be  sufficient  to 
pay  your  expenses  to  Montreal  and  leave  you  about  fifty 
dollars  to  keep  you  till  you  can  get  something  to  do." 


THE  LAST  OF  JONAS   PEARSON. 


LEE. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  59 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SAFELY    BACK. 

When  the  ship  came  within  a  few  hundred  yards,  Vin- 
cent stood  up  and  waved  his  cap,  and  a  minute  later  the 
ship  was  brought  up  into  the  wind  and  her  sails  thrown 
aback.  The  captain  appeared  at  the  side  and  shouted  to 
the  boat  now  but  fifty  yards  away. 

"What  do  you  want  there?" 

"I  have  a  passenger  for  England,"  Vincent  replied. 
"Will  you  take  him?" 

"Come  alongside,"  the  captain  said.  "Why  didn't  he 
come  on  board  before  I  started?" 

The  boat  was  rowed  alongside,  and  Vincent  climbed  on 
board.  The  captain  greeted  him  as  a  stranger  and  led 
the  way  to  his  cabin. 

"You  have  managed  that  well,"  he  said  when  they 
were  alone,  "and  I  am  heartily  glad  that  you  have  suc- 
ceeded. I  made  you  out  two  hours  ago.  We  will  stop 
here  another  two  or  three  minutes  so  that  the  men  may 
think  you  are  bargaining  for  a  passage  for  the  negro,  and 
then  the  sooner  he  is  on  board  and  you  are  on  your  way 
back  the  better,  for  the  wind  is  rising,  and  I  fancy  it  is 
going  to  blow  a  good  deal  harder  before  night." 

"And  won't  you  let  me  pay  for  the  man's  passage, 
captain?  It  is  only  fair  anyhow  that  I  should  pay  for 
what  he  will  eat." 

"Oh,  nonseuse!"  the  captain  replied.  "He  will  make 
himself  useful  and  pay  for  his  keep.     I  am  only  too  glad 


60  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

to  get  the  poor  fellow  off.     Now,  we  will  have  a  glass  of 
wine  together  and  then  say  good-by." 

Two  minutes  later  they  returned  to  the  deck.  Vinceni 
went  to  the  side. 

"Jump  on  board,  Tony.  I  have  arranged  for  your 
passage." 

The  negro  climbed  up  the  side. 

"Good-by,  captain,  and  thank  you  heartily.  Good-by, 
Tony." 

The  negro  could  not  speak,  but  he  seized  the  hand 
Vincent  held  out  to  him  and  pressed  it  to  his  lips.  Vin- 
cent dropped  lightly  into  his  boat  and  pushed  off  from 
the  side  of  the  vessel.  As  he  did  so  he  heard  orders 
shouted,  the  yards  swung  round,  and  the  vessel  almost 
at  once  began  to  move  through  the  water. 

"Now,  Dan,  up  with  the  mast  and  sail  again;  but  let 
me  put  two  reefs  in  first,  the  wind  is  getting  up." 

In  five  minutes  the  sail  was  hoisted,  and  with  Vincent 
at  the  helm  and  Dan  sitting  up  to  windward,  was  dashing 
through  the  water.  Although  Vincent  understood  the 
management  of  a  sailing-boat  on  the  calm  waters  of  the 
rivers,  this  was  his  first  experience  of  sea-sailing;  and 
although  the  waves  were  still  but  small,  he  felt  at  first 
somewhat  nervous  as  the  boat  clashed  through  them, 
sending  up  at  times  a  sheet  of  spray  from  her  bows.  But 
he  soon  got  over  this  sensation,  and  enjoyed  the  lively 
motion  and  the  fresh  wind.  The  higher  points  of  the 
land  were  still  visible;  but  even  had  they  not  been  so  it 
would  have  mattered  little,  as  he  had  taken  the  precau- 
tion to  bring  with  him.  a  small  pocket-compass.  The 
wind  was  from  the  southwest,  and  he  was  therefore  able, 
with  the  sheet  hauled  in,  to  make  for  a  point  where  he 
judged  the  mouth  of  the  York  Eiver  lay. 

"Golly,  massa!  how  de  boat  do  jump  up  and  down." 
"She  is  lively,  Dan,  and  it  would  be  just  as  well  if  we 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  61 

had  some  ballast  on  board;  however,  she  has  a  good  beam 
and  walks  along  splendidly.  If  the  wind  keeps  as  it  is, 
we  shall  be  back  at  the  mouth  of  the  York  in  three  or 
four  hours.  You  may  as  well  open  that  basket  again  and 
hand  me  that  cold  chicken  and  a  piece  of  bread;  cut  the 
meat  off  the  bones  and  put  it  on  the  oread,  for  I  have 
only  one  hand  disengaged;  and  hand  me  that  bottle  of 
cold  tea.  That's  right.  Now  you  had  better  take  some- 
thing yourself.  You  must  be  hungry.  We  forgot  all 
about  the  basket  in  our  interest  in  the  ship." 

Dan  shook  his  head. 

"A  little  while  ago,  massa,  me  seem  bery  hungry, 
now  me  doesn't  feel  hungry  at  all." 

"That's  bad,  Dan.  I  am  afraid  you  are  going  to  be 
seasick." 

"Me  no  feel  seasick,  massa;  only  me  don't  feel 
hungry." 

But  in  a  few  minutes  Dan  was  forced  to  confess  that 
he  did  feel  ill,  and  a  few  moments  afterward  was  groan- 
ing in  the  agonies  of  seasickness. 

"Never  mind,  Dan,"  Vincent  said  cheerfully.  "You 
will  be  better  after  this." 

"Me  not  seasick,  massa;  de  sea  have  nuffin  to  do  with 
it.  It's  de  boat  dat  will  jump  up  and  down  instead  of 
going  quiet.'* 

"It's  all  the  same  thing,  Dan;  and  I  hope  she  won't 
jump  about  more  before  we  get  into  the  river." 

But  in  another  half-hour  Vincent  had  to  bring  the 
boat's  head  up  to  the  wind,  lower  the  lug,  and  tie  down 
the  last  reef. 

"There,  she  goes  easier  now,  Dan,"  he  said,  as  the 
boat  resumed  her  course;  but  Dan,  who  was  leaning 
helplessly  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  could  see  no  differ- 
ence. 

Vincent,  however,  felt  that  under  her  close  sail  the 


63  WITS  LEE  m  VIRGINIA: 

boat  was  doing  better,  and  rising  more  easily  on  the 
waves,  which  were  now  higher  and  further  apart  than 
before.  In  another  hour  the  whole  of  the  shore-line  was 
visible,  but  the  wind  had  risen  so  much  that,  even  under 
her  reduced  sail,  the  boat  had  as  much  as  she  could 
carry,  and  often  heeled  over  until  her  gunwale  was 
nearly  under  w^ter.  Another  hour  and  the  shore  was 
but  some  four  miles  away,  but  Vincent  felt  he  could  no 
longer  hold  on. 

In  the  hands  of  an  experienced  sailor,  who  would  have 
humored  the  boat  and  eased  her  up  a  little  to  meet  the 
seas,  the  entrance  to  the  York  Eiver  could  no  doubt  have 
been  reached  with  safety;  but  Vincent  was  ignorant  of 
the  art  of  sailing  a  boat  in  the  sea,  and  she  was  shipping 
water  heavily.  Dan  had  for  some  time  been  baling, 
having  only  undertaken  the  work  in  obedience  to  Vin- 
cent's angry  orders,  being  too  ill  to  care  much  what  be- 
came of  them. 

"Now,  Dan,  I  am  going  to  bring  her  head  up  to  the 
wind,  so  get  ready  to  throw  off  that  halyard  and  gather 
in  the  sail  as  it  comes  down.  That's  right,  man;  now 
down  with  the  mast." 

Vincent  had  read  that  the  best  plan  when  caught  in  an 
open  boat  in  a  gale  was  to  tie  the  oars  and  mast,  if  she 
had  one,  together,  and  to  throw  them  overboard  with  the 
head  rope  tied  to  them,  as  by  that  means  the  boat  would 
ride  head  to  sea.  The  oars,  sculls,  mast,  and  sail  were 
firmly  tied  together  and  launched  overboard,  the  rope 
being  first  taken  off  the  anchor  and  tied  round  the  middle 
of  the  clump  of  spars. 

Vincent  caref ally  played  out  the  rope  till  some  fifteen 
yards  were  over,  then  he  fastened  it  to  the  ring  of  the 
head  rope,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  that  the 
boat  rode  easily  to  the  floating  anchor,  rising  lightly  over 
th«*  waves,  and  not  shipping  a  drop  of  water.     He  then 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  63 

took  the  baler  and  got  rid  of  the  water  that  had  found  its 
way  on  board,  Dan,  after  getting  down  the  sail,  having 
collapsed  utterly. 

"Now,  Dan,  sit  up;  there,  man,  the  motion  is  much 
easier  now,  and  we  are  taking  no  water  on  board.  I  will 
give  you  a  glass  of  rum,  that  will  put  new  strength  into 
you.  It's  lucky  we  put  it  in  the  basket  in  case  of  emer- 
gency." 

The  negro,  whose  teeth  were  chattering  from  eoid, 
fright,  and  exhaustion,  eagerly  drank  off  the  spirit. 
Vincent,  who  was  wet  to  the  skin  with  the  spray,  took  a 
little  himself,  and  then  settled  himself  as  comfortably  as 
he  could  on  the  floor-boards  in  the  stern  cf  the  boat,  and 
quietly  thought  out  the  position.  The  wind  was  still  ris- 
ing, and  a  thick  haze  obscured  t.c :  land.  He  had  na 
doubt  that  by  night  it  would  be  bloving  a  gaie;  but  the 
boat  rode  so  easily  and  lightly  ^hat  be  oslieved  she  would 
get  through  it. 

They  might,  it  was  true,  oe  olown  many  miles  off  the 
shore,  and  not  be  able  to  get  back  for  some  time,  for  the 
gale  might  last  t^c  :»r  three  cays.  The  basket  of  provi- 
sions was,  however,  a  large  one.  Dan  had  received  orders 
to  bring  plenty  and  had  obeyed  them  literally,  and  Vin- 
cent saw  that  the  supply  of  food,  if  carefully  husbanded, 
would  last  without  difficulty  for  a  week.  The  supply  of 
liquor  was  less  satisfactory.  There  was  the  bottle  of  rum, 
two  bottles  of  claret,  and  a  two-gallon  jar,  nearly  half- 
empty,  of  water.     The  cold  tea  was  finished. 

"That  would  be  a  poor  supply  for  a  week  for  two  of 
us/'  Vincent  muttered,  as  he  removed  the  contents  of 
the  basket  and  stored  them  carefully  in  the  locker; 
"however,  if  it's  going  to  be  a  gale  there  is  sure  to  be 
some  rain  with  it,  so  I  think  we  shall  manage  very  well." 

By  night  it  was  blowing  really  heavily,  but  although 
the  waves  were  high  the  boat  shipped  but  little  water. 


64  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Dan  had  fallen  off  to  sleep,  and  Vincent  had  been  glad  to 
wrap  himself  in  the  thick  coat  ho  had  brought  with  him 
as  a  protection  against  the  heavy  dews  when  sleeping  on 
the  river,  At  times  sharp  rain-squalls  burst  upon  them, 
and  Vincent  had  no  difficulty  in  filling  up  the  water- 
bottle  again  with  the  baler. 

The  water  was  rather  brackish,  but  not  sufficiently  so 
to  be  of  consequence.  All  night  the  boat  was  tossed 
heavily  on  the  waves.  Vincent  dozed  off  at  times,  rous- 
ing himself  occasionally  and  baling  out  the  water,  which 
came  in  the  shape  of  spray  and  rain.  The  prospect  in 
the  morning  was  not  cheering.  Gray  clouds  covered  the 
sky  and  seemed  to  come  down  almost  on  to  the  water, 
the  angry  sea  was  crested  with  white  heads,  and  it  seemed 
to  Vincent  wonderful  that  the  boat  should  live  in  such  a 
sea. 

"Now,  Dan,  wake  yourself  up  and  get  some  break- 
fast," Vincent  said,  stirring  up  the  negro  with  his  foot. 

"Oh,  Lor'  !"  Dan  groaned,  raising  himself  into  a  sitting 
position  from  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  "dis  am  awful;  we 
neber  see  the  shore  no  more,  massa." 

"Nonsense,  man,"  Vincent  said  cheerily;  "we  are  get- 
ting on  capitally." 

"It  hab  been  an  awful  night,  sah." 

"An  awful  night!  You  lazy  rascal,  you  slept  like  a  pig 
all  night,  while  I  have  been  baling  the  boat  and  looking 
out  for  you.  It  is  your  turn  now,  I  can  tell  you.  Well, 
do  you  feel  ready  for  your  breakfast?" 

Dan,  after  a  moment's  consideration,  declared  that  he 
was.  The  feeling  of  seasickness  had  passed  off,  and  ex- 
cept that  he  was  wet  through  and  miserable,  he  felt  him- 
self again,  and  could  have  eaten  four  times  the  allowance 
of  food  that  Vincent  handed  him.  A  pannikin  of  rum 
and  water  did  much  to  restore  his  life  and  vitality,  and 
he  was  soon,  with  the  light-heartedneas  of  his  race, 
laughing  and  chatting  cheerfully. 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  65 

"How  long  dis  go  on,  you  tink,  sah?" 

"Not  long,  I  hope,  Dan.  I  was  afraid  last  night  it  was 
going  to  be  a  big  gale,  but  I  do  not  think  it  is  blowing  so 
hard  now  as  it  was  in  the  night." 

"Where  have  we  got  to  now,  sah?" 

"I  don't  exactly  know,  Dan;  but  I  do  not  suppose  that 
we  are  very  many  miles  away  from  shore.  The  mast  and 
oars  prevent  our  drifting  fast,  and  I  don't  think  we  are 
further  off  now  than  we  were  when  we  left  that  ship  yes- 
terday. But  even  if  we  were  four  or  five  times  as  far  as 
that,  we  would  not  take  very  long  in  sailing  back  again 
when  the  wind  drops,  and  as  we  have  got  enough  to  eat 
for  a  week  we  need  not  be  uncomfortable  about  that,/' 

"Not  much  food  for  a  week,  Massa  Vincent. " 

"Not  a  very  great  deal,  Dan;  but  quite  enough  to  keep 
us  going.  You  can  make  up  for  lost  time  when  you  get 
to  shore  again." 

In  a  few  hours  it  was  certain  that  the  wind  was  going 
down.  By  midday  the  clouds  began  to  break  up,  and  an 
hour  later  the  sun  was  shining  brightly.  The  wind  was 
still  blowing  strongly,  but  the  sea  had  a  very  different 
appearance  in  the  bright  light  of  the  sun  to  that  which  it 
had  borne  under  the  canopy  of  dark  gray  clouds.  Stand- 
ing up  in  the  boat  two  hours  later,  Vincent  could  see  no 
signs  of  land. 

"How  shall  we  find  our  way  back,  Marse  Vincent?" 

"We  have  got  a  compass;  besides,  we  should  manage 
very  well  even  if  we  had  not.  Look  at  the  sun,  Dan. 
There  it  is  right  ahead  of  us.  So  you  know,  that's  the 
west — that's  the  way  we  have  to  go." 

"That  very  useful  ob  de  sun,  sah;  but  suppose  we  not 
live  in  de  west  de  sun  not  point  de  way  den." 

"Oh,  yes,  he  would,  just  the  same,  Dan.  We  should 
know  whether  to  go  away  from  him,  or  to  keep  him  on 
the  right  hand  or  on  the  left." 


66  WITH  LEE  IK  VIRGINIA. 

This  was  beyond  Dan.  "And  I  s'pose  the  moon  will 
Bhow  de  way  at  night,  massa?" 

"The  moon  would  show  the  way  if  she  were  up,  but 
she  is  not  always  up;  but  I  have  got  a  compass  here,  and 
so  whether  we  have  the  sun  or  the  moon,  or  neither  of 
them,  I  can  find  my  way  back  to  land." 

Dan  had  never  seen  a  compass,  and  for  an  hour  amused 
himself  turning  it  round  and  round  and  trying  to  get  it 
to  point  in  some  other  direction  than  the  north. 

"Now,  Dan,"  Vincent  said  at  last,  "give  me  that  com- 
pass, and  get  out  the  food.  We  will  have  a  better  meal 
than  we  did  this  morning,  for  now  that  the  wind  is  going 
down  there's  no  chance  of  food  running  short.  When 
we  have  had  dinner  we  will  get  up  the  sail  again.  The 
sea  is  not  so  rough  as  it  was,  and  it  is  certainly  not  so 
high  as  it  was  before  we  lowered  the  sail  yesterday." 

"De  waves  bery  big,  massa." 

"They  are  big,  Dan;  but  they  are  not  so  angry.  The 
heads  are  not  breaking  over  as  they  did  last  night,  and 
the  boat  will  go  better  over  those  long  waves  than  she 
did  through  the  choppy  sea  at  the  beginning  of  the  gale." 

Accordingly  the  bundle  of  spars  was  pulled  up  along- 
side and  lifted.  The  mast  was  set  up  and  the  sail 
hoisted.  Dan  in  a  few  minutes  forgot  his  fears  and  lost 
even  his  sense  of  uneasiness  as  he  found  the  boat 
mounted  wave  after  wave  without  shipping  water.  Sev- 
eral times,  indeed,  a  shower  of  spray  flew  high  up  in  the 
air,  but  the  gusts  no  longer  buried  her  so  that  the  water 
eame  over  the  gunwale,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before 
there  was  any  occasion  to  use  the  baler.  As  the  sun  set 
it  could  be  seen  that  there  was  a  dark  line  between  it  and 
the  water. 

"There  is  the  land,  Dan;  and  I  do  not  suppose  it  is 
more  than  twenty  miles  away,  for  most  of  the  coast  lies 
Tlow." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  67 

"But  how  we  find  de  York  River,  mas3a?  Will  de 
compass  tell  you  dat?" 

"No,  Dan.  I  don't  know  whether  we  have  drifted 
north  or  south  of  it.  At  ordinary  times  the  current  runs 
up  the  coast,  but  the  wind  this  morning  was  blowing 
from  the  north  of  west,  and  may  have  been  doing  so  all 
through  the  night  for  anything  I  know.  Well,  the  great 
thing  is  to  make  land.  We  are  almost  sure  to  come 
across  some  fishing-boats,  but,  if  not,  we  must  run  ashore 
and  find  a  house." 

They  continued  sailing  until  Vincent's  watch  told  him 
it  was  twelve  o'clock,  by  which  time  the  coast  was  quite 
close.  The  wind  now  almost  dropped,  and,  lowering 
their  sail,  they  rowed  in  until,  on  lowering  the  anchor, 
they  found  that  it  touched  the  ground.  Then  they  lay 
down  and  slept  till  morning.  Dan  was  the  first  to 
waken. 

"Dar  are  some  houses  dere  close  down  by  the  shore, 
sah,  and  some  men  getting  out  a  boat." 

"That's  all  right,  Dan,"  Vincent  said  as  he  roused 
himself  and  looked  over.  "We  shall  learn  soon  where 
we  are." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  fishing-boat  put  off,  and 
the  lads  at  once  rowed  to  it. 

"How  far  are  we  from  the  mouth  of  the  York  River?" 
Vincent  asked  the  two  negroes  on  board. 

"About  twenty  miles,  sah.     Where  you  come  from?" 

"We  were  off  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  were  blown 
off  in  the  gale." 

"You  tink  yourself  bery  lucky  you  get  back,"  one  of 
them  said.  "Bery  foolish  to  go  out  like  dat  when  not 
know  how  to  get  back." 

"Well,  we  have  managed  to  get  back  now,  you  see,  and 
none  the  worse  for  it.  Now,  Dan,  up  with  the  sail 
again." 


68  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 

There  was  a  light  wind  off  shore,  and  all  the  reefs 
being  shaken  out  the  boat  ran  along  fast. 

"I  should  think  we  are  going  about  five  miles  an  hour, 
Dan.  We  ought  to  be  off  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  four 
hours.  We  must  look  out  sharp  or  else  we  shall  pass  it, 
for  many  of  these  islets  look  just  like  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  However,  we  are  pretty  sure  to  pass  several  fish- 
ing-boats on  our  way.  and  we  shall  be  able  to  inquire 
from  them." 

There  was  no  need,  however,  to  do  this.  It  was  just 
the  four  hours  from  the  time  of  starting  when  they  saw 
some  eight  or  ten  fishing-boats  ahead  of  them, 

"I  expect  that  that  is  the  entrance  to  the  river.  When 
we  get  half  a  mile  further  we  shall  see  it  open," 

On  approaching  the  fishing-boats  they  recognized  at 
once  the  appearance  of  the  shore,  as  they  had  noticed  it 
when  fishing  there  before,  and  were  soon  in  the  entrance 
to  the  river. 

"It  will  be  high  tide  in  about  two  hours,"  Vincent 
said,  "according  to  the  time  it  was  the  other  day.  I  am 
afraid  when  it  turns  we  shall  have  to  get  down  our  sails; 
there  will  be  no  beating  against  both  wind  and  tide. 
Then  we  must  get  out  oars  and  row.  There  is  very  little 
tide  close  in  by  the  bank,  and  every  little  gain  will  be  a 
help.  We  have  been  out  four  days.  It  is  Thursday  now, 
and  they  will  be  beginning  to  get  very  anxious  at  home, 
so  we  must  do  our  best  to  get  back." 

Keeping  close  under  the  bank,  they  rowed  steadily, 
making  on  an  average  about  two  miles  an  hour.  After 
five  hours'  rowing  they  tied  up  to  the  bank,  had  a  meal, 
and  rested  until  the  tide  turned;  then  they  again  hoisted 
their  sail  and  proceeded  on  their  way.  Tide  carried  them 
just  up  to  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers,  and  landing  at 
Cumberland  they  procured  beds  and  slept  till  morning. 

Another  long  day's  work  took  them  up  to  the  planta- 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  69 

tion  of  Mr.  Furniss,  and  fastening  up  the  boat,  and 
carrying  the  sails  and  oars  on  shore,  they  started  on  their 
walk  home. 

"Why,  Vincent,  wlv**e  on  earth  have  you  been  all  this 
time?"  Mrs.  Win^neld  said  as  her  son  entered.  "You 
said  you  might  be  away  a  couple  of  nights,  and  we  ex- 
pected you  back  on  Wednesday  at  the  latest,  and  now  it 
is  Friday  evening." 

"Well,  mother,  we  have  had  grs&t  fun.  We  went  sail- 
ing about  right  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  York  River. 
I  did  not  calculate  that  it  would  take  me  more  than  twice 
■as  long  to  get  back  as  to  get  down;  but  as  the  wind  blew 
right  down  the  river  it  was  precious  slow  work,  and  we 
had  to  row  all  the  way.  However,  it  has  been  a  jolly 
trip,  and  I  feel  a  lot  better  for  it." 

"You  don't  look  any  better  for  it,"  Annie  said.  "The 
skin  is  all  off  your  face,  and  you  are  as  red  as  fire.  Your 
clothes  look  shrunk  as  well  as  horribly  dirty.  You  are 
quite  an  object,  Vincent." 

"We  got  caught  in  a  heavy  gale,"  Vincent  said,  "and 
got  a  thorough  ducking.  As  to  my  face,  a  day  or  two 
will  set  it  all  to  rights  again-  and  so  they  will  my  hands, 
I  hope,  for  I  have  got  nicely  blistered  tugging  at  those 
oars.  And  now,  mother,  I  want  some  supper,  for  I  am 
as  hungry  as  a  hunter.  I  told  Dan  to  go  into  the  kitchen 
and  get  a  good  square  meal." 

The  next  morning,  just  after  breakfast,  there  was  the 
sound  of  horses'  hoofs  outside  the  house,  and,  looking 
out,  Vincent  saw  Mr.  Jackson,  with  a  man  he  knew  to  be 
the  sheriff,  and  four  or  five  others.  A  minute  later  one 
of  the  servants  came  in,  and  said  that  the  sheriff  wished 
to  speak  to  Mrs.  Wingfield. 

"I  will  go  out  to  him,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  replied.  Vin- 
cent followed  her  to  the  door. 

"Mrs.  Wingfield,"  the  sheriff  said,  "1  am  the  holder 


70  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

of  a  warrant  to  search  your  slave-huts  and  grounds  for  a 
runaway  negro  named  Anthony  Moore,  the  property  of 
Mr.  Jackson  here." 

"Do  you  suppose,  sir,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  asked  angrily, 
"that  I  am  the  sort  of  person  to  give  shelter  to  runaway 
slaves?" 

"No,  madam,  certainly  not/'  the  sheriff  replied;  "no 
one  would  suppose  for  a  moment  that  Mrs.  Wingfield  of 
the  Orangery  would  have  anything  to  do  with  a  runaway, 
but  Mr.  Jackson  here  learned  only  yesterday  that  the 
wife  of  this  slave  was  here,  and  every  one  knows  that 
where  the  wife  is  the  husband  is  not  likely  to  be  far  off." 

"I  suppose,  sir,"  Mrs.  "Wingfield  said  coldly,  "that 
there  was  no  necessity  for  me  to  acquaint  Mr.  Jackson 
formally  with  the  fact  that  I  had  purchased  through  my 
agent  the  woman  he  sold  to  separate  her  from  her  hus- 
band." 

"By  no  means,  madam,  by  no  means;  though,  had  we 
known  it  before,  it  might  have  been  some  aid  to  us  in  our 
search.  Have  we  your  permission  to  see  this  woman  and 
to  question  her?" 

"Certainly  not,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  said;  "but  if  you  have 
any  question  to  ask  I  will  ask  her  and  give  you  her 
answer." 

"We  want  to  know  whether  she  has  seen  her  husband 
since  the  day  of  his  flight  from  the  plantation?" 

"I  shall  certainly  not  ask  her  that  question,  Mr. 
Sheriff.  I  have  no  doubt  that,  as  the  place  from  which 
he  has  escaped  is  only  a  few  miles  from  here,  he  did  come 
to  see  his  wife.  It  would  have  been  very  strange  if  he 
did  not.  I  hope  that  by  this  time  the  man  is  hundreds 
of  miles  away.  He  was  brutally  treated  by  a  brutal 
master,  who,  I  believe,  deliberately  set  to  work  to  make 
him  run  away,  so  that  he  could  hunt  him  down  and 
punish  him.     I  presume,  sir,  you  do  not  wish  to  search 


WITH  LEE  W  VIRGINIA.  71 

this  house,  and  you  do  not  suppose  that  the  man  is 
hidden  here.  As  to  the  slave-huts  and  the  plantation, 
you  can,  of  course,  search  them  thoroughly;  but  as  it  is 
now  more  than  a  fortnight  since  the  man  escaped,  it  is 
not  likely  you  will  find  him  hiding  within  a  few  miles  of 
his  master's  plantation." 

So  saying  she  went  into  the  house  and  shut  the  door 
behind  her. 

Mr.  Jackson  ground  his  teeth  with  rage,  but  tire 
sheriff  rode  off  toward  the  slave-huts  without  a  word. 
The  position  of  Mrs.  Wingfield  of  the  Orangery,  con- 
nected as  she  was  with  half  the  old  families  of  Virginia, 
and  herself  a  large  slave-owner,  was  beyond  suspicion,. 
and  no  one  would  venture  to  suggest  that  such  a  lady 
could  have  the  smallest  sympathy  for  a  runaway  slave. 

"She  was  down  upon  you  pretty  hot,  Mr.  Jackson," 
the  sheriff  said  as  they  rode  off.  "You  don't  seem  to  be 
in  her  good  books. "     Jackson  muttered  an  imprecation. 

"It  is  certainly  odd,"  the  sheriff  went  on,  "after  what 
you  were  telling  me  about  her  son  pitching  into  Andrew 
over  flogging  this  very  slave,  that  she  should  go  and  buy 
his  wife.  Still,  that's  a  very  different  thing  from  hiding 
a  runaway.  I  dare  say  that,  as  she  says,  the  fellow  came 
here  to  see  his  wife  when  he  first  ran  away;  but  I  don't 
think  you  will  find  him  anywhere  about  here  now.  It's 
pretty  certain  from  what  we  hear  that  he  hasn't  made  for 
the  North,  and  where  the  fellow  can  be  hiding  I  can't 
think.  Still  the  woods  about  this  country  are  mighty 
big,  and  the  fellow  can  go  out  on  to  the  farms  and  pick 
corn  and  keep  himself  going  for  a  long  time.  Still,  he's 
sure  to  be  brought  up  sooner  or  later." 

A  thorough  search  was  made  of  the  slave -huts,  and 
the  slaves  were  closely  questioned,  but  all  denied  any 
knowledge  of  the  runaway.     Ban  escaped  questioning, 


22  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

as  he  had  taken  np  Vincent's  horse  to  the  house  in  readi- 
ness for  him  to  start  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  breakfast. 

All  day  the  searchers  rode  about  the  plantation  examin- 
ing every  clump  of  bushes,  and  assuring  themselves  that 
none  of  them  had  been  used  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the 
runaway. 

''It's  no  good,  Mr.  Jackson,"  the  sheriff  said  at  last. 
"The  man  may  have  been  here;  he  ain't  here  now.  The 
only  place  we  haven't  searched  is  the  house,  and  you  may 
be  quite  sure  the  slaves  dare  not  conceal  him  there.  Too 
many  would  get  to  know  it.  ISTo,  sir,  he's  made  a  bolt  of 
it,  and  you  will  have  to  wait  now  till  he  is  caught  by 
chance,  or  shot  by  some  farmer  or  other  in  the  act  of 
stealing." 

"I  would  lay  a  thousand  dollars,"  Andrew  Jackson  ex- 
claimed passionately,  "that  young  Wingneld  knows  some- 
thing about  his  whereabouts,  and  has  lent  him  a  hand!" 

"Well,  I  should  advise  you  to  keep  your  mouth  shut 
about  it  till  you  get  some  positive  proof,"  the  sheriff 
said  dryly.  "I  tell  you  it's  no  joke  to  accuse  a  member 
of  a  family  like  the  Wingfields  of  helping  runaway 
slaves  to  escape." 

"I  will  bide  my  time,"  the  planter  said.  "You  said 
that  some  day  you  would  lay  hands  on  Tony  dead  or 
alive.  You  see  if  some  day  I  don't  lay  hands  on  young 
Wingneld." 

"Well,  it  seems,  Mr.  Jackson,"  the  sheriff  remarked 
with  a  sneer,  for  he  was  out  of  temper  at  the  ill  success 
of  the  day's  work,  "that  he  has  already  laid  hands  on 
your  son.  It  seems  to  me  quite  as  likely  that  he  will  lay 
hands  on  you  as  you  on  him." 

Two  days  afterward  as  Vincent  was  riding  through  the 
streets  of  Richmond  he  saw  to  his  surprise  Andrew  Jack- 
son in  close  conversation  with  Jonas  Pearson. 

"I  wonder  what  those  two  fellows  are  talking  about  V 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  73 

he  said  to  himself.  "I  expect  Jackson  is  trying  to  pump 
Pearson  as  to  the  doings  at  the  Orangery.  I  don't  like 
that  fellow,  and  never  shall,  and  he  is  just  the  sort  of 
man  to  do  one  a  bad  turn  if  he  had  the  chance.  How- 
ever, as  I  have  never  spoken  to  him  about  that  affair 
from  beginning  to  end,  I  don't  see  that  he  can  do  any 
mischief  if  he  wants  to." 

Andrew  Jackson,  however,  had  obtained  information 
which  he  considered  valuable.  He  learned  that  Vincent 
had  been  away  in  a  boat  for  five  days,  and  that  his 
mother  had  been  very  uneasy  about  him.  He  also 
learned  that  the  boat  was  one  belonging  to  Mr.  Furniss, 
and  that  it  was  only  quite  lately  that  Vincent  had  taken 
to  going  out  sailing. 

After  considerable  trouble  he  succeeded  in  getting  at 
one  of  the  slaves  upon  Mr.  Furniss'  plantation.  But 
he  could  only  learn  from  him  that  Vincent  had  been  un- 
accompanied when  he  went  out  in  the  boat  either  by 
young  Furniss  or  by  any  of  the  plantation  hands;  that  he 
had  taken  with  him  only  his  own  slave,  and  had  come 
and  gone  as  he  chose,  taking  out  and  fastening  up  the 
boat  himself,  so  that  no  one  could  say  when  he  had  gone 
out,  except  that  his  horse  was  put  up  at  the  stables.  The 
slave  said  that  certainly  the  horse  had  only  stood  there 
on  two  or  three  occasions,  and  then  only  for  a  few  hours, 
and  that  unless  Mr.  Wingfield  had  walked  over  he  could 
never  have  had  the  boat  out  all  night,  as  the  horse  cer- 
tainly had  not  stood  all  night  in  the  stables. 

Andrew  Jackson  talked  the  matter  over  with  his  son, 
and  both  agreed  that  Vincent's  conduct  was  suspicious. 
His  own  people  said  he  had  been  away  for  five  days  in 
the  boat.  The  people  at  Furniss'  knew  nothing  about 
this,  and  therefore  there  must  be  some  mystery  about  it, 
and  they  doubted  not  that  that  mystery  was  connected 
with  the  runaway  slave,  and  they  guessed  that  he  had 


74  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

either  taken  Tony  and  landed  him  near  the  mouth  of  the 
York  Kiver  on  the  northern  shore,  or  that  he  had  put 
him  on  board  a  ship.  They  agreed,  however,  that  what- 
ever their  suspicions,  they  had  not  sufficient,  grounds  for 
openly  accusing  Vincent  of  aiding  their  runaway. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  ft 


CHAPTER  V. 

SECESSION. 

While  Vincent  had  been  occupied  with  the  affairs  of 
Tony  and  his  wife,  public  events  had  moved  forward 
rapidly.  The  South  Carolina  Convention  met  in  the 
third  week  in  December,  and  on  the  20th  of  that  month 
the  Ordinance  of  Secession  was  passed.  On  the  10th  of 
January,  three  days  after  Vincent  returned  home  from 
his  expedition,  Florida  followed  the  example  of  South 
Carolina  and  seceded.  Alabama  and  Mississippi  passed 
the  Ordinance  of  Secession  on  the  following  day; 
Georgia  on  the  18th,  Louisiana  on  the  23d,  and  Texas  on 
the  1st  of  February. 

In  all  these  States  the  Ordinance  of  Secession  was  re- 
ceived with  great  rejoicings:  bonfires  were  lit,  the  towns 
illuminated,  and  the  militia  paraded  the  streets,  and  in 
many  cases  the  Federal  arsenals  were  seized  and  the 
Federal  forts  occupied  by  the  State  troops.  In  the 
meantime  the  northern  Slave  States,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  remained 
irresolute.  The  general  feeling  was  strongly  in  favor  of 
their  Southern  brethren;  but  they  were  anxious  for  peace, 
and  for  a  compromise  being  arrived  at.  Whether  the 
North  would  agree  to  admit  the  constitutional  rights  of 
secession,  or  whether  it  would  use  force  to  compel  the 
Seceding  States  to  remain  in  the  Union,  was  still  uncer- 
tain; but  the  idea  of  a  civil  war  was  so  terrible  a  one  that 
the  general  belief  was  that  some  arrangement  to  allow 


76  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

the  States  to  go  their  own  way  would  probably  be  ar- 
rived at. 

For  the  time  the  idea  of  Vincent  going  to  West  Point 
was  abandoned.  Among  his  acquaintances  were  several 
young  men  who  were  already  at  "West  Point,  and  very 
few  of  these  returned  to  the  academy.  The  feeling  there 
was  very  strongly  on  the  side  of  secession.  A  great 
majority  of  the  students  came  from  the  Southern  States, 
as  while  the  sons  of  the  Northern  men  went  principally 
into  trade  and  commerce,  the  Southern  planters  sent 
their  sons  into  the  army,  and  a  great  proportion  of  the 
officers  of  the  army  and  navy  were  Southerners. 

As  the  professors  at  West  Point  were  all  millitary  men, 
the  feeling  among  them,  as  well  as  among  the  students, 
was  in  favor  of  State  rights;  they  considering  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  constitution,  their  allegiance  was  due  first 
to  the  States  of  which  they  were  natives,  and  in  the  sec- 
ond place  to  the  Union.  Thus,  then,  many  of  the  pro- 
fessors who  were  natives  of  the  seven  States  which  had 
seceded  resigned  their  appointments,  and  returned  home 
to  occupy  themselves  in  drilling  the  militia  and  the 
levies,  who  were  at  once  called  to  arms. 

Still  all  hoped  that  peace  would  be  preserved  until,  on 
the  11th  of  April,  General  Beauregard,  who  commanded 
the  troops  of  South  Carolina,  summoned  Major  Ander- 
son, who  was  in  command  of  the  Federal  troops  in  Fort 
Sumter,  to  surrender,  and  on  his  refusal  opened  fire  upon 
the  fort  on  the  following  day. 

On  the  13th,  the  barracks  of  the  fort  being  set  on  fire, 
and  Major  Anderson,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  a  pro- 
longed resistance,  surrendered.  The  effect  of  the  news 
throughout  the  United  States  was  tremendous,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  at  once  called  out  seventy-five  thousand  men  of 
the  militia  of  the  various  States  to  put  down  the  rebellion 
— the  border  States  being  ordered  to  send  their  proportion. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  77 

This  brought  matters  to  a  climax.  Virginia,  North  Car- 
olina, Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri  all  refused  to 
furnish  contingents  to  act  against  the  Southern  States;  and 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Kansas  a  few  days  later 
passed  Ordinances  of  Secession  and  joined  the  Southern 
States.  Missouri,  Maryland,  and  Delaware  were  divided 
in  their  counsels. 

The  struggle  that  was  about  to  commence  was  an 
uneven  one.  The  white  population  of  the  Seceding 
States  was  about  8,000,000;  while  that  of  the  Northern 
States  was  19,614,885.  The  North  possessed  an  im1- 
mense  advantage,  inasmuch  as  they  retained  the  whole  of 
the  Federal  navy,  and  were  thereby  enabled  at  once  to 
cut  off  all  communication  between  the  Southern  State's 
and  Europe,  while  they  themselves  could  draw  unlimited 
supplies  of  munitions  of  war  of  all  kinds  from  across  the 
Atlantic. 

Although  the  people  of  Virginia  had  hoped  to  the  last 
that  some  peaceful  arrangement  might  be  effected,  th8 
Act  of  Secession  was  received  with  enthusiasm.  The  de- 
mand of  Mr.  Lincoln  that  they  should  furnish  troops  to 
crush  their  Southern  brethren  excited  the  liveliest  indig- 
nation, and  Virginia  felt  that  there  was  no  course  open 
to  her  now  but  to  throw  in  her  lot  with  the  other  Slave 
States.  Her  militia  was  at  once  called  out,  and  volunteers 
called  for  to  form  a  provisional  army  to  protect  the  State 
from  invasion  by  the  North. 

The  appeal  was  answered  with  enthusiasm;  men  of  all 
ages  took  up  arms;  the  wealthy  raised  regiments  at  their 
own  expense,  generally  handing  over  the  commands  to 
experienced  army  officers,  and  themselves  taking  their 
places  in  the  ranks;  thousands  of  lads  of  from  fifteen  to 
sixteen  years  of  age  enrolled  themselves,  and  men  who 
had  never  done  a  day's  work  in  their  life  prepared  to 
suffer  all  the  hardships  of  the  campaign  as  private  sol- 
diers. 


78  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Mrs.  Wingfield  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  State 
rights;  and  when  Vincent  told  her  that  numbers  of  his 
friends  were  going  to  enroll  themselves  as  soon  as  the 
lists  were  opened,  she  offered  no  objection  to  his  doing 
the  same. 

"Of  course  you  are  very  young,  Vincent;  but  no  one 
thinks  there  will  be  any  serious  fighting.  Now  that  Vir- 
ginia and  the  other  four  States  have  cast  in  their  lot  with 
the  seven  that  have  seceded,  the  North  can  never  hope 
to  force  the  solid  South  back  into  the  Union.  Still  it  is 
right  you  should  join.  I  certainly  should  not  like  an  old 
Virginian  family  like  ours  to  be  unrepresented;  but  I 
should  prefer  your  joining  one  of  the  mounted  corps. 

"In  the  first  place  it  will  be  much  less  fatiguing  than 
carrying  a  heavy  rifle  and  knapsack;  and  in  the  second 
place,  the  cavalry  will  for  the  most  part  be  gentlemen. 
I  was  speaking  only  yesterday  when  I  went  into  Eich- 
mond  to  Mr.  Ashley,  who  is  raising  a  corps.  He  is  one 
of  the  best  riders  in  the  country,  and  a  splendid  speci- 
men of  a  Virginian  gentleman.  He  tells  me  that  he  has 
already  received  a  large  number  of  applications  from 
young  volunteers,  and  that  he  thinks  he  shall  be  able 
without  any  difficulty  to  get  as  many  as  he  wants.  I  said 
that  I  had  a  son  who  would  probably  enroll  himself,  and 
that  I  should  like  to  have  him  in  his  corps. 

"He  said  that  he  would  be  glad  to  put  down  your 
name,  and  that  he  had  had  many  applications  from  lads  no 
older  than  yourself.  He  considered  that  for  cavalry 
work,  scouting,  and  that  sort  of  thing,  age  mattered 
little,  and  that  a  lad  who  was  at  once  a  light  weight,  a 
good  rider,  and  a  good  shot  was  of  as  much  good  as  a 
man." 

"Thank  you,  mother.  I  will  ride  into  Eichmond  to- 
morrow morning  and  see  Ashley.  I  have  often  met  him 
at  one  house  or  another,  and  should  like  to  serve  under 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  ?9 

him  very  much.  I  should  certainly  prefer  being  in  the 
cavalry  to  the  infantry/7 

Eosie  and  Annie,  who  were  of  course  enthusiastic  for 
the  South,  were  almost  as  pleased  as  was  Vincent  when 
they  heard  that  their  mother  had  consented  to  his  enroll- 
ing himself.  So  many  of  the  girls  of  their  acquaintance 
had  brothers  or  cousins  who  were  joining  the  army  that 
they  would  have  felt  it  as  something  like  a  slur  upon  the 
family  name  had  Vincent  remained  behind. 

On  the  following  morning  Vincent  rode  over  and  saw 
Mr.  Ashley,  who  had  just  received  his  commisson  as 
major.     He  was  cordially  received. 

"Mrs.  Wingfield  was  speaking  to  me  about  you,  and  I 
shall  be  glad  to  have  you  with  me — the  more  so  as  you 
are  a  capital  rider  and  a  good  shot.  I  shall  have  a  good 
many  in  my  ranks  no  older  than  you  are.  Did  I  not 
hear  a  few  months  since  that  you  bought  Wildfire?  I 
thought  when  I  heard  it  that  you  would  be  lucky  if  you 
did  not  get  your  neck  broken  in  the  course  of  a  week. 
Peters,  who  owns  the  next  estate  to  mine,  had  the  horse 
for  about  three  weeks,  and  was  glad  enough  to  get  rid  of 
it  for  half  what  he  had  given  for  it.  He  told  me  the 
horse  was  the  most  savage  brute  he  ever  saw.  I  suppose 
you  did  not  keep  it  many  days?" 

"I  have  got  it  still,  and  mean  to  ride  it  with  you. 
The  horse  was  not  really  savage.  It  was  hot-tempered, 
and  had,  I  think,  been  badly  treated  by  its  first  owner. 
Whoever  it  had  belonged  to,  I  found  no  difficulty  with 
it.  It  only  wanted  kindness  and  a  little  patience;  and 
as  soon  as  it  found  that  it  could  not  get  rid  of  me,  and 
that  I  had  no  intention  of  ill-treating  it,  it  settled  down 
quietly,  after  running  away  a  few  times  and  giving  me 
some  little  trouble  at  starting.  And  now  I  would  not 
change  it  for  any  horse  in  the  State." 

"You  must  be  a  first-rate  rider,"  Major  Ashley  said, 


80  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"to  be  able  to  tame  Wildfire.  I  never  saw  the  horse,  for 
I  was  away  when  Peters  had  her;  but  from  his  descrip- 
tion it  was  a  perfect  savage." 

"Are  we  allowed  to  bring  a  servant  with  us?"  Vincent 
asked. 

"Yes,  if  you  like.  I  know  that  a  good  many  are  going 
to  do  so,  but  you  must  not  make  up  your  mind  that  you 
will  get  much  benefit  from  one.  We  shall  move  rapidly, 
and  each  man  must  shift  for  himself,  but  at  the  same 
time  we  shall  of  course  often  be  stationary;  and  then  serv- 
ants will  be  useful.  At  any  rate  I  can  see  no  objection 
to  men  having  them.  We  must  be  prepared  to  rough  it 
to  any  extent  when  it  is  necessary,  but  I  see  no  reason 
why  at  other  times  a  man  should  not  make  himself  com- 
fortable. I  expect  the  order  to-morrow  or  next  day  to 
begin  formally  to  enroll  volunteers.  As  I  have  now  put 
down  your  name  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  you  to  come 
in  then.  You  will  receive  a  communication  telling  you 
when  to  report  yourself. 

"I  shall  not  trouble  much  about  uniform  at  first.  High 
boots  and  breeches,  a  thick  felt  hat  that  will  turn  the 
edge  of  a  sword,  and  a  loose  coat-jacket  of  dark-gray 
cloth.  That  is  the  name  of  the  tailor  who  has  got  the 
pattern,  and  will  make  them.  So  I  should  advise  you  to 
go  to  him  at  once,  for  he  will  be  so  busy  soon  that  there 
is  no  saying  when  the  whole  troop  will  get  their  uni- 
forms." 

Upon  his  return  home  Vincent  related  to  his  mother 
and  sisters  the  conversation  that  he  had  had  with  Major 
Ashley. 

"Certainly  you  had  better  take  a  servant  with  you," 
his  mother  said.  "I  suppose  when  you  are  riding  about 
you  will  have  to  clean  your  horse,  and  cook  your  dinner, 
and  do  everything  for  yourself;  but  when  you  are  in  a 
town  you  should  have  these  things  done  for  you.  Who 
would  you  like  to  take?" 


WITH  LEE  ffl  VIRGINIA.  81 

"I  should  like  to  take  Dan,  mother,  if  you  have  no  ob- 
jection. He  is  very  strong  and  active,  and  I  think  would 
generally  be  able  to  keep  up  with  us;  besides,  I  know  he 
would  always  stick  to  me." 

"You  shall  have  him  certainly,  Vincent;  I  will  make 
him  over  formally  to  you." 

"Thank  you,  mother,"  Vincent  said  joyfully;  for  he 
had  often  wished  that  Dan  belonged  to  him,  as  he  would 
then  be  able  to  prevent  any  interference  with  him  by  the 
overseer  or  any  one  else,  and  could,  if  he  liked,  give  him 
his  freedom — although  this  would,  he  knew,  be  of  very 
doubtful  advantage  to  the  lad  as  long  as  he  remained  in 
the  South. 

The  next  morning  the  necessary  papers  were  drawn  up, 
and  the  ownership  of  Dan  was  formally  transferred  to 
Vincent.  Dan  was  wild  with  delight  when  he  heard  that 
Vincent  was  now  his  master,  and  that  he  was  to  accom- 
pany him  to  the  war.  It  had  been  known  two  days  be- 
fore that  Vincent  was  going,  and  it  seemed  quite  shock- 
ing to  the  negroes  that  the  young  master  should  go  as  a 
private  soldier,  and  have  to  do  everything  for  himself — 
"just,"  as  they  said,  "like  de  poor  white  trash;"  for  the 
slaves  were  proud  to  belong  to  an  old  family,  and  looked 
down  with  almost  contempt  upon  the  poorer  class  of 
whites,  regarding  their  own  position  as  infinitely  superior. 

Four  days  later  Vincent  received  an  official  letter  say- 
ing that  the  corps  would  be  mustered  in  two  days'  time. 
The  next  day  was  spent  in  a  long  round  of  farewell  visits, 
and  then  Vincent  mounted  Wildfire,  and,  with  Dan 
trotting  behind,  rode  off  from  the  Orangery  amid  a 
chorus  of  blessings  and  good  wishes  from  all  the  slaves 
who  could  on  any  pretext  get  away  from  their  duties, 
and  who  had  assembled  in  front  of  the  house  to  see  him 
start. 

The  place  of  meeting  for  the  regiment  was  at  Hanover 


82  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Courthouse — a  station  on  the  Richmond  and  Fredericks- 
burg Railway,  close  to  the  Pamunky  River,  about  eight- 
een miles  from  the  city. 

The  Orangery  was  a  mile  from  the  village  of  Gaines, 
which  lay  to  the  northeast  of  Richmond,  and  was  some 
twelve  miles  from  Hanover  Courthouse. 

A  month  was  spent  in  drill,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
the  corps  were  able  to  execute  any  simple  maneuver. 
More  than  this  Major  Ashley  did  not  care  about  their 
learning.  The  work  in  which  they  were  about  to  engage 
was  that  of  scouts  rather  than  that  of  regular  cavalry, 
and  the  requirements  were  vigilance  and  attention  to 
orders,  good  shooting  and  a  quick  eye.  Off  duty  there 
was  but  little  discipline.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  men 
were  in  a  good  position  in  life,  and  many  of  them  very 
wealthy;  and  while  strict  discipline  and  obedience  were 
expected  while  on  duty,  at  all  other  times  something  like 
equality  existed  between  officers  and  men,  and  all  were 
free  to  live  as  they  chose. 

The  rations  served  out  were  simple  and  often  scanty, 
for  at  present  the  various  departments  were  not  properly 
organized,  and  such  numbers  of  men  were  flocking  to  the 
standards  that  the  authorities  were  at  their  wit's  end  to 
provide  them  with  even  the  simplest  food.  This  mat- 
tered but  little,  however,  to  the  regiment,  whose  mem- 
bers were  all  ready  and  willing  to  pay  for  everything  they 
wanted,  and  the  country  people  round  found  a  ready 
market  for  all  their  chickens,  eggs,  fruit,  and  vegetables 
at  Hanover  Courthouse,  for  here  there  were  also  several 
infantry  regiments,  and  the  normally  quiet  little  village 
was  a  scene  of  bustle  and  confusion. 

The  arms  of  the  cavalry  were  of  a  very  varied  descrip- 
tion. Not  more  than  a  dozen  had  swords;  the  rest 
were  armed  with  rifles  or  shot-guns,  with  the  barrels  cut 
short  to  enable  them  to  be  carried  as  carbines.     Many  of 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  83 

them  were  armed  with  revolvers,  and  some  carried  pistols 
so  antiquated  that  they  might  have  been  used  in  the  revo- 
lutionary war.  A  certain  number  of  tents  had  been 
issued  for  the  use  of  the  corps.  These,  however,  were 
altogether  insufficient  for  the  numbers,  and  most  of  the 
men  preferred  to  sleep  in  shelters  composed  of  canvas, 
carpets,  blankets,  or  any  other  material  that  came  to 
hand,  or  in  arbors  constructed  of  the  boughs  of  trees,  for 
it  was  now  April  and  warm  enough  to  sleep  in  the  open 
air. 

In  the  third  week  in  May  the  order  came  that  the  corps 
was  to  march  at  once  for  Harper's  Ferry — an  important 
position  at  the  point  where  the  Shenandoah  Eiver  runs 
into  the  Potomac,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley. The  order  was  received  with  the  greatest  satisfac- 
tion. The  Federal  forces  were  gathering  rapidly  upon 
the  northern  banks  of  the  Potomac,  and  it  was  believed 
that,  while  the  main  army  would  march  down  from  Wash- 
ington through  Manassas  Junction  direct  upon  Eichmond, 
another  would  enter  by  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and, 
crossing  the  Blue  Eidge  Mountains,  come  down  on  the 
rear  of  the  Confederate  army,  facing  the  main  force  at 
Manassas.  The  cavalry  marched  by  road,  while  the  in- 
fantry were  dispatched  by  rail  as  far  as  Manassas  Junc- 
tion, whence  they  marched  to  Harper's  Ferry.  The 
black  servants  accompanied  the  infantry. 

The  cavalry  march  was  a  pleasant  one.  At  every  vil- 
lage through  which  they  passed  the  people  flocked  out 
with  offerings  of  milk  and  fruit.  The  days  were  hot,  but 
the  mornings  and  evenings  delightful;  and  as  the  troops 
always  halted  in  the  shade  of  a  wood  for  three  or  four 
hours  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  the  marches,  although 
long,  were  not  fatiguing.  At  Harper's  Ferry  General 
Johnston  had  just  superseded  Colonel  Jackson  in  com- 
mand.    The  force  there  consisted  of  11   battalions  of 


84  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

infantry,  16  guns,  and  after  Ashley's  force  arrived,  300 
cavalry.  Among  the  regiments  there  Vincent  found 
many  friends,  and  learned  what  was  going  on. 

He  learned  that  Colonel  Jackson  had  been  keeping 
them  hard  at  work.  Some  of  Vincent's  friends  had  been 
at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  at  Lexington,  where 
Jackson  was  professor  of  natural  philosophy  and  in- 
structor of  artillery. 

"He  was  the  greatest  fun,"  one  of  the  young  men  said, 
"the  stiffest  and  most  awkward-looking  fellow  in  the  in- 
stitute. He  used  to  walk  about  as  if  he  never  saw  any- 
thing or  anybody.  He  was  always  known  as  Old  Tom, 
and  nobody  ever  saw  him  laugh.  He  was  awfully  earnest 
in  all  he  did,  and  strict,  I  can  tell  you,  about  everything. 
There  was  no  humbugging  him.  The  fellows  liked  him 
because  he  was  really  so  earnest  about  everything,  and 
always  just  and  fair.  But  he  didn't  look  a  bit  like  a 
soldier  except  as  to  his  stiffness,  and  when  the  fellows 
who  had  been  at  Lexington  heard  that  he  was  in  com- 
mand here  they  did  not  think  he  would  have  made  much 
hand  at  it;  but  I  tell  you,  he  did.  You  never  saw  such 
a  fellow  to  work. 

"Everything  had  to  be  done,  you  know.  There  were 
the  guns,  but  no  horses  and  no  harness.  The  horses  had 
to  be  got  somehow,  and  the  harness  manufactured  out  of 
ropes;  and  you  can  imagine  the  confusion  of  nine  bat- 
talions of  infantry,  all  recruits,  with  no  one  to  teach 
them  except  a  score  or  two  of  old  army  and  militia 
officers.  Old  Tom  has  done  wonders,  I  can  tell  you. 
You  see,  he  is  so  fearfully  earnest  himself  every  one  else 
has  got  to  be  earnest.  There  has  been  no  playing  about 
anything,  but  just  fifteen  hours'  hard  work  a  day.  Fel- 
lows grumbled  and  growled  and  said  it  was  absurd,  and 
threatened  to  do  all  sorts  of  things.  You  see,  they  had 
all  come  out  to  fight  if  necessary,  but  hadn't  bargained 
ior  such  hard  work  as  this. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  85 

"However,  Jackson  had  his  way,  and  I  don't  suppose 
any  one  ever  told  him  the  men  thought  they  were  too 
hard  worked.  He  is  not  the  sort  of  man  one  would  care 
about  remonstrating  with.  I  don't  know  yet  whether  he 
is  as  good  at  fighting  as  he  is  at  working  and  organizing; 
but  I  rather  expect  a  fellow  who  is  so  earnest  about  every- 
thing else  is  sure  to  be  earnest  about  fighting,  and  I  fancy 
that  when  he  once  gets  into  the  thick  of  it  he  will  go 
through  with  it.  He  had  such  a  reputation  as  an  oddity 
at  Lexington  that  there  were  a  lot  of  remarks  when  he 
was  made  colonel  and  sent  here;  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  has  proved  himself  the  right  man  so  far,  and 
although  his  men  may  grumble  they  believe  in  him. 

"My  regiment  is  in  his  brigade,  and  I  will  bet  any 
money  that  we  have  our  share  of  fighting.  What  sort  of 
man  is  Johnston?  He  is  a  fine  fellow — a  soldier,  heart 
and  soul.  You  could  tell  him  anywhere,  and  we  have  a 
first-rate  fellow  in  command  of  the  cavalry — Colonel 
Stuart — a  splendid  dashing  fellow,  full  of  life  and  go. 
His  fellows  swear  by  him.  I  quite  envy  you,  for  I  expect 
you  will  astonish  the  Yankee  horsemen.  They  are  no 
great  riders  up  there,  you  know,  and  I  expect  the  first 
time  you  meet  them  you  will  astonish  them." 

Here  he  suddenly  stopped,  stood  at  attention,  and 
saluted. 

Vincent  at  once  did  the  same,  although,  had  he  not 
been  set  the  example  by  his  friend,  he  would  never  have 
thought  of  doing  so  to  the  figure  who  passed. 

"Who  is  it?"  he  asked,  as  his  companion  resumed  his 
easy  attitude. 

"Why,  that's  Old  Tom." 

"What!  Colonel  Jackson?"  Vincent  said  in  surprise. 
"Well,  he  is  an  odd-looking  fellow." 

The  fi£  irf  that  had  passed  was  that  of  a  tall,  gaunt 
man,  leaning  awkwardly  forward  in  his  saddle.     He  wore 


g6  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

an  old  gray  coat,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  rank,  nor 
particle  of  gold  lace  upon  the  uniform.  He  wore  on  his 
head  a  faded  cadet  cap,  with  the  rim  coming  down  so  far 
upon  his  nose  that  he  could  only  look  sideways  from 
under  it.  He  seemed  to  pay  but  little  attention  to  what 
was  going  on  around  him,  and  did  not  enter  into  conver- 
sation with  any  of  the  officers  he  met. 

The  brigade  commanded  by  Jackson  was  the  first  of 
the  army  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  consisted  of  the  2d,  4th, 
5th,  and  27th  Virginians,  to  which  was  shortly  afterward 
added  the  33d.  They  were  composed  of  men  of  all  ranks 
and  ages,  among  them  being  a  great  number  of  lads 
from  fifteen  and  upward;  for  every  school  had  been  de- 
serted. Every  boy  capable  of  carrying  a  musket  had  in- 
sisted upon  joining,  and  among  them  were  a  whole  com- 
pany of  cadets  from  Lexington.  The  regiments  selected 
their  own  officers,  and  among  these  were  many  who  were 
still  lads.  Manj  of  the  regiments  had  no  accouterments, 
and  were  without  uniforms,  and  numbers  carried  no 
better  arms  than  a  double-barreled  shot-gun;  but  all 
were  animated  with  the  same  spirit  of  enthusiasm  in 
their  cause,  and  a  determination  to  die  rather  than  to 
allow  the  invaders  to  pass  on  through  the  fertile  valleys 
of  their  native  land. 

Of  all  these  valleys  that  of  Shenandoah  was  the  richest 
and  most  beautiful.  It  was  called  the  Garden  of  Vir- 
ginia; and  all  writers  agreed  in  their  praises  of  the 
beauties  of  its  fields  and  forests,  mountains  and  rivers, 
its  delicious  climate,  and  the  general  prosperity  which 
prevailed  among  its  population. 

It  was  a  pleasant  evening  that  Ashley's  horse  spent  at 
Harper's  Ferry  on  the  day  they  marched  in.  All  had 
many  friends  among  the  other  Virginian  regiments,  and 
their  campfires  were  the  center  toward  which  men 
trooped  by  scores.     The  rest  was  pleasant  after  their 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  87 

hard  marches;  and,  although  ready  to  do  their  own  work 
when  necessary,  they  appreciated  the  advantage  of  having 
their  servants  again  with  them  to  groom  their  horses  and 
cook  their  food. 

The  negroes  were  not  less  glad  at  being  again  with 
their  masters.  Almost  all  were  men  who  had,  like  Dan, 
been  brought  up  with  their  young  owners,  and  felt  for 
them  a  strong  personal  attachment,  and,  if  it  had  been 
allowed,  would  gladly  have  followed  them  in  the  field  of 
battle,  and  fought  by  their  side  against  the  "Yankees." 
Their  stay  at  Harper's  Ferry  was  to  be  a  short  one. 
Colonel  Stuart,  with  his  200  horse,  was  scouting  along 
the  whole  bank  of  the  Potomac,  watching  every  move- 
ment of  the  enemy,  and  Ashleyys  horse  was  to  join  them 
at  once. 

It  was  not  difficult  for  even  young  soldiers  to  form  an 
idea  of  the  general  nature  of  the  operations.  They  had 
to  protect  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  to  guard  the  five  great 
roads  by  which  the  enemy  would  advance  against  Win- 
chester, and  not  only  to  save  the  loyal  inhabitants  and 
rich  resources  of  the  valley  from  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  Federals,  but  what  was  of  even  greater  importance, 
to  prevent  the  latter  from  marching  across  the  Blue 
Ridge  Mountains,  and  falling  upon  the  flank  of  the  main 
Confederate  army  at  Manassas. 

The  position  was  a  difficult  one,  for  while  "the  grand 
army"  was  assembling  at  Alexandria  to  advance  against 
Manassas  Junction,  McClellan  was  advancing  from  the 
northwest  with  20,000  men,  and  Patterson  from  Penn- 
sylvania with  18,000. 

In  the  morning  before  parading  his  troop,  100  strong, 
Ashley  called  them  together  and  told  them  that,  as  they 
would  now  be  constantly  on  the  move  and  scattered  over 
a  long  line,  it  was  impossible  that  they  could  take  their 
servants  with  them. 


88  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  should  never  have  allowed  them  to  be  brought,"  he 
said,  "had  I  known  that  we  should  be  scouting  over  such 
an  extensive  country;  at  the  same  time,  if  we  can  manage 
to  take  a  few  on  it  would  certainly  add  to  our  comfort. 
I  propose  that  we  choose  ten  by  lot  to  go  on  with  us. 
They  must  be  servants  of  the  troop  and  not  of  individ- 
uals. We  can  scatter  them  in  pairs  at  five  points,  with 
instructions  to  forage  as  well  as  they  can,  and  to  have 
things  in  readiness  to  cook  for  whoever  may  come  in  off 
duty  or  may  for  the  time  be  posted  there.  Henceforth 
every  man  must  groom  and  see  to  his  own  horse,  but  I 
see  no  reason,  military  or  otherwise,  why  we  shouldn't 
get  our  food  cooked  for  us;  and  it  will  be  just  as  well,  as 
long  as  we  can,  to  have  a  few  bundles  of  straw  for  us  to 
lie  on  instead  of  sleeping  on  the  ground. 

"Another  ten  men  we  can  also  choose  by  lot  to  go  to 
Winchester;  which  is,  I  imagine,  the  point  we  shall  move 
to  if  the  enemy  advance,  as  I  fancy  they  will,  from  the 
other  side  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  The  rest  must  be 
sent  home." 

Each  man  accordingly  wrote  his  name  on  a  piece  of 
paper,  and  placed  them  in  a  haversack.  Ten  were  then 
drawn  out;  and  their  servants  were  to  accompany  the 
troop  at  once.  The  servants  of  the  next  ten  were  to 
proceed  by  train  to  Winchester,  while  the  slaves  of  all 
whose  names  remained  in  the  bag  were  to  be  sent  home 
at  once,  provided  with  passes  permitting  them  to  travel. 
To  Vincent's  satisfaction  his  name  was  one  of  the  first 
ten  drawn,  and  Dan  was  therefore  to  go  forward.  The 
greater  part  of  the  men  evaded  the  obligation  to  send 
their  servants  back  to  Richmond  by  dispatching  them  to 
friends  who  had  estates  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  with 
letters  asking  them  to  keep  the  men  for  them  until  the 
troop  happened  to  come  into  their  neighborhood. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  troop  mounted  and 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  89 

rode  to  Bath,  thirty  miles  away.  It  was  here  that  Stuarfi 
had  his  headquarters,  wbence  he  sent  out  his  patrols  up 
and  down  the  Potomac,  between  Harper's  Ferry  on  the 
east  and  Cumberland  on  the  west.  Stuart  was  away  when 
they  arrived,  but  he  rode  in  a  few  hours  afterward. 

"Ah!  Ashley,  I  am  glad  you  have  arrived,"  he  said,  as 
he  rode  up  to  the  troop,  who  had  hastily  mounted  as  he 
was  seen  approaching.  " There  is  plenty  for  you  to  do,  I 
can  tell  you;  and  I  only  wish  that  you  had  brought  a 
thousand  men  instead  of.  a  hundred.  I  am  heartily  glad 
to  see  you  all,  gentlemen/'  he  said  to  the  troop.  "I  am 
afraid  just  at  first  that  the  brightness  of  your  gray 
jackets  will  put  my  men  rather  to  shame;  but  we  shall 
soon  get  rid  of  that.  BiU  dismount  your  men,  Ashley; 
there  is  plenty  for  them  and  their  horses  to  do  without 
wasting  time  in  parade  work.  There  is  very  little  of 
that  here,  I  can  tell  you.  I  have  not  seen  a  score  of  my 
men  together  for  the  last  month." 

Vincent  gazed  with  admiration  at  the  young  leader, 
whose  name  was  soon  to  be  celebrated  throughout  Amer- 
ica and  Europe.  The  young  Virginian — for  he  was  not 
yet  twenty-eight  years  old — was  the  leau  ideal  of  a 
cavalry  officer.  He  was  singularly  handsome,  and  pos- 
sessed great  personal  strength  and  a  constitution  which 
enabled  him  to  bear  all  hardships.  He  possessed  unfail- 
ing good  spirits,  and  had  a  joke  and  laugh  for  all  he  met; 
and  while  on  the  march  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  he 
was  always  ready  to  lift  up  his  voice  and  lead  the  songa 
with  which  the  men  made  the  woods  resound. 

He  seemed  to  live  in  his  saddle,  and  was  present  at  all 
hours  of  the  night  and  day  along  the  line  he  guarded,  see- 
ing that  the  men  were  watchful  and  on  the  alert,  instruct- 
ing the  outposts  in  their  duty,  and  infusing  his  own  spirit 
and  vigilance  among  them.  He  had  been  educated  at 
West  Point,  and  had  seen  much  service  with  the  cavalry 


90  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

against  the  Indians  in  the  West.  Such  was  the  man  who 
was  to  become  the  most  famous  cavalry  leader  of  his 
time.  So  far  he  had  not  come  in  contact  with  the  enemy, 
and  his  duties  were  confined  to  obtaining  information  re- 
garding their  strength  and  intentions,  to  watching  every 
road  by  which  they  could  advance,  and  to  seeing  that 
none  passed  North  to  carry  information  to  the  enemy  as 
to  the  Confederate  strength  and  positions,  for  even  in 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  there  were  some  whose  sympathies 
were  with  the  Federals. 

These  were  principally  Northern  men  settled  as  traders 
in  the  towns,  and  it  was  important  to  prevent  them  from 
sending  any  news  to  the  enemy.  So  well  did  Stuart's 
cavalry  perform  this  service,  and  so  general  was  the 
hostility  of  the  population  against  the  North,  that 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  war  in  Virginia  it  was  very 
seldom  that  the  Northern  generals  could  obtain  any 
trustworthy  information  as  to  the  movements  and 
strength  of  the  Confederates,  while  the  latter  were  per- 
fectly informed  of  every  detail  connected  with  the  inten- 
tions of  the  invaders. 

The  next  morning  Ashley's  troop  took  up  their  share 
of  the  work  at  the  front.  They  were  broken  up  into 
parties  of  ten,  each  of  which  was  stationed  at  a  village 
near  the  river,  five  men  being  on  duty  night  and  day. 
As  it  happened  that  none  of  the  other  men  in  his  squad 
had  a  servant  at  the  front,  Vincent  was  able  without 
difficulty  to  have  Dan  assigned  to  his  party.  A  house  in 
the  village  was  placed  at  their  disposal,  and  here  the  five 
off  duty  slept  and  took  their  meals  while  the  others  were 
in  the  saddle.  Dan  was  puite  in  his  element,  and  turned 
out  an  excellent  cook,  and  was  soon  a  general  favorite 
among  the  mess. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA,  QJ 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BULL   RUN. 

The  next  fortnight  passed  by  without  adventure. 
Hard  as  the  work  was,  Vincent  enjoyed  it  thoroughly. 
When  on  duty  by  day  he  was  constantly  on  the  move, 
riding  through  the  forest,  following  country  lanes,  ques- 
tioning every  one  he  came  across;  and  as  the  men  always 
worked  in  pairs,  there  was  no  feeling  of  loneliness. 
Sometimes  Ashley  would  draw  together  a  score  of 
troopers,  and  crossing  the  river  in  a  ferryboat,  would  ride 
twenty  miles  north,  and,  dashing  into  quiet  villages, 
astonish  the  inhabitants  by  the  sight  of  the  Confederate 
uniform.  Then  the  villagers  would  be  questioned  as  to 
the  news  that  had  reached  them  of  the  movement  of  the 
troops;  the  post-office  would  be  seized  and  the  letters 
broken  open;  any  useful  information  contained  in  them 
being  noted.  But  in  general  questions  were  readily  an- 
swered; for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  people  of  Mary- 
land were  strongly  in  favor  of  the  South,  and  were  only 
prevented  from  joining  it  by  the  strong  force  that  held 
possession  of  Baltimore,  and  by  the  constant  movement 
of  Federal  armies  through  the  State.  Vincent  was  often 
employed  in  carrying  dispatches  from  Major  Ashley  to 
Stuart,  being  selected  for  that  duty  as  being  the  best 
mounted  man  in  the  troop.  The  direction  was  always  a 
vague  one.  "Take  this  letter  to  Colonel  Stuart,  wher- 
ever he  may  be,"  and  however  early  he  started,  Vincent 
thought  himself  fortunate  if  he  carried  out  his  mission 


92  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

before  sunset;  for  Stuart's  front  covered  over  fifty  miles 
of  ground,  and  there  was  no  saying  where  he  might  be. 
Sometimes  after  riding  thirty  or  forty  miles,  and  getting 
occasional  news  that  Stuart  had  passed  through  ahead  of 
him,  he  would  learn  from  some  outpost  that  the  colonel 
had  been  there  but  ten  minutes  before,  and  had  ridden 
off  before  he  came,  and  ihen  Vincent  had  to  turn  his 
horse  and  gallop  back  again,  seldom  succeeding  in  over- 
taking his  active  commander  until  the  latter  had  halted 
for  his  supper  at  one  or  other  of  the  villages  where  hi8 
men  were  stationed.  Sometimes  by  good  luck  he  came 
upon  him  earlier,  and  then,  after  reading  the  dispatch, 
Stuart  would,  if  he  were  riding  in  the  direction  where 
Ashley's  command  lay,  bid  him  ride  on  with  him,  and 
would  chat  with  him  on  terms  of  friendly  intimacy  about 
people  they  both  knew  at  Kichmond,  or  as  to  the  details 
of  his  work,  and  sometimes  they  would  sit  down  together 
under  the  shade  of  some  trees,  take  out  the  contents  of 
their  haversacks,  and  share  their  dinners. 

''This  is  the  second  time  I  have  had  the  best  of  this," 
the  colonel  laughed  one  day;  "my  beef  is  as  hard  as 
leather,  and  this  cold  chicken  of  yours  is  as  plump  and 
tender  as  one  could  wish  to  eat." 

"I  have  my  own  boy,  colonel,  who  looks  after  the  ten 
of  us  stationed  at  Elmside,  and  I  fancy  that  in  the  mat- 
ter of  cold  rations  he  gives  me  an  undue  preference.  He 
always  hands  me  my  haversack  when  I  mount  with  a 
grin,  and  I  quite  understand  that  it  is  better  I  should  ask 
no  questions  as  to  its  contents." 

"You  are  a  lucky  fellow,"  Stuart  said.  "My  own  serv- 
ant is  a  good  man,  and  would  do  anything  for  me;  but 
my  irregular  hours  are  too  much  for  him.  He  never 
knows  when  to  expect  me;  and  as  he  often  finds  that 
when  I  do  return  I  have  made  a  meal  an  hour  before  at 
one  of  the  outposts,  and  do  not  want  the  food  he  has  foi 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  93 

hours  been  carefully  keeping  hot  for  me,  it  drives  him 
almost  to  despair,  and  I  have  sometimes  been  obliged  to 
eat  rather  than  disappoint  him.  But  he  certainly  has 
not  a  genius  for  cooking,  and  were  it  not  that  this  riding 
gives  one  the  appetite  of  a  hunter,  I  should  often  have  a 
good  deal  of  difficulty  in  devouring  the  meat  he  puts 
into  my  haversack. " 

But  the  enemy  were  now  really  advancing,  and  on  the 
12th  of  June  a  trooper  rode  in  from  the  extreme  left, 
and  handed  to  Vincent  a  dispatch  from  Colonel  Stuart. 

"My  orders  were,"  he  said,  "that,  if  you  were  here, 
you  were  to  carry  this  on  at  all  speed  to  General  John- 
ston.    If  not,  some  one  else  was  to  take  it  on." 

"Any  news?"  Vincent  asked,  as  aided  by  Dan  he 
rapidly  saddled  Wildfire. 

"Yes,"  the  soldier  said;  "two  thousand  of  the  enemy 
have  advanced  up  the  western  side  and  have  occupied 
Eomney,  and  they  say  that  all  Patterson's  force  is  on 
the  move." 

"So  much  the  better,"  Vincent  replied,  as  he  jumped 
into  the  saddle.  "We  have  been  doing  nothing  long 
enough,  and  the  sooner  it  comes  the  better." 

It  was  a  fifty-mile  ride;  but  it  was  done  in  five  hours, 
and  at  the  end  of  that  time  Vincent  dismounted  in  front 
of  General  Johnston's  quarters. 

"Is  the  general  in?"  he  asked  the  sentry  at  the  door. 

"No,  he  is  not  in;  but  here  he  comes,"  the  soldier  re- 
plied, and  two  minutes  later  the  general,  accompanied 
by  three  or  four  officers,  rode  up. 

Vincent  saluted,  and  handed  him  the  dispatch.  The 
general  opened  it  and  glanced  at  the  contents. 

"The  storm  is  going  to  burst  at  last,  gentlemen,"  he 
said  to  the  officers.  "Stuart  writes  me  that  2,000  men, 
supposed  to  be  the  advance  of  McOlellan's  army,  are  at 
Komney,  and  that  he  hears  Patterson  is  also  advancing 


94  WITH  LEE  IK  VIRGINIA. 

from  Chambersburg  on  Williainsport.  His  dispatch  is 
dated  this  morning  at  nine  o'clock.  He  writes  from 
near  Cumberland.  ISTo  time  has  been  lost,  for  that  is 
eighty  miles  away,  and  it  is  but  five  o'clock  now.  How 
far  have  you  brought  this  dispatch,  sir?" 

"I  have  brought  it  from  Elmside,  general;  twenty 
miles  on  the  other  side  of  Bath.  A  trooper  brought  it  in 
just  at  midday,  with  orders  for  me  to  carry  it  on  at  once." 

"That  is  good  work,"  the  general  said.  "You  have 
ridden  over  fifty  miles  in  five  hours.  You  must  be  well 
mounted,  sir." 

"I  do  not  think  there  is  a  better  horse  in  the  State," 
Vincent  said,  patting  Wildfire's  neck. 

The  general  called  an  orderly. 

"Let  this  man  picket  his  horse  with  those  of  the 
staff,"  he  said,  "and  see  that  it  has  forage  at  once.  Take 
the  man  to  the  orderly's  quarters,  and  see  that  he  is  well 
cared  for." 

Vincent  saluted,  and,  leading  Wildfire,  followed  the 
orderly.  When  he  had  had  a  meal,  he  strolled  out  to 
see  what  was  going  on.  Evidently  some  movement  was 
in  contemplation.  Officers  were  riding  up  or  dashing  off 
from  the  general's  headquarters.  Two  or  three  regi- 
ments were  seen  marching  down  from  the  plateau  on 
which  they  were  encamped  into  the  town.  Bells  rang 
and  drums  beat,  and  presently  long  trains  of  railway 
wagons,  heavily  laden,  began  to  make  their  way  across 
the  bridge.  Until  next  morning  the  movement  con- 
tinued unceasingly;  by  that  time  all  the  military  stores 
and  public  property,  together  with  as  much  private 
property  belonging  to  inhabitants  who  had  decided  to 
forsake  their  homes  for  a  time  rather  than  to  remain 
there  when  the  town  was  occupied  by  the  enemy,  as 
could  be  carried  on  in  the  available  wagons,  had  been 
taken  across  the  bridge.     A  party  of  engineers,  who  had 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  95 

been  all  night  hard  at  work,  then  set  fire  both  to  the  rail- 
way bridge  across  the  river  and  the  public  buildings  in 
the  town.  The  main  body  of  troops  had  moved  across  in 
the  evening.  The  rearguard  passed  when  all  was  in 
readiness  for  the  destruction  of  the  bridge. 

General  Johnston  had  been  preparing  for  the  move- 
ment for  some  time;  he  had  foreseen  that  the  position 
must  be  evacuated  as  soon  as  the  enemy  began  to  advance 
upon  either  of  his  flanks,  and  a  considerable  portion  of 
his  baggage  and  military  stores  had  some  time  previously 
been  sent  into  the  interior  of  Virginia.  The  troops, 
formed  up  on  the  high  grounds  south  of  the  river, 
looked  in  silence  at  the  dense  volumes  of  smoke  rising. 
This  was  the  reality  of  war.  Hitherto  their  military 
work  had  been  no  more  than  that  to  which  many  of  them 
were  accustomed  when  called  out  with  the  militia  of 
their  State;  but  the  scene  of  destruction  on  which  they 
now  gazed  brought  home  to  them  that  the  struggle  was  a 
serious  one — that  it  was  war  in  its  stern  reality  which 
had  now  begun. 

The  troops  at  once  set  off  on  their  march,  and  at 
night  bivouacked  in  the  woods  around  Oharlestown.  The 
next  day  they  pushed  across  the  country  and  took  up  a 
position  covering  Winchester;  and  then  tho  enemy,  find- 
ing that  Johnston's  army  was  in  front  of  them  ready  to 
dispute  their  advance,  recrossed  the  river,  and  Johnston 
concentrated  his  force  round  Winchester. 

Vincent  joined  his  corps  on  the  same  afternoon  that 
the  infantry  marched  out  from  Harper's  Ferry,  the  gen- 
eral sending  him  forward  with  dispatches  as  soon  as  the 
troops  had  got  into  motion. 

"You  will  find  Colonel  Stuart  in  front  of  the  enemy; 
but  more  than  that  I  cannot  tell  you." 

This  was  quite  enough  for  Vincent,  who  found  the 
cavalry  scouting  close  to  Patterson's  force,  prepared  to 


96  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

attack  the  enemy's  cavalry  should  it  advance  to  recon« 
noiter  the  country,  and  to  blow  up  bridges  across  streams, 
fell  trees,  and  take  every  possible  measure  to  delay  the 
advance  of  Patterson's  army,  in  its  attempt  to  push  on 
toward  Winchester  before  the  arrival  of  General  John- 
ston's force  upon  the  scene. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you  back,  Wingfield,"  Major  Ashley 
said,  as  he  rode  up.  "The  colonel  tells  me  that  in  the 
dispatch  he  got  last  night  from  Johnston  the  general 
said  that  Stuart's  information  had  reached  him  in  a  re- 
markably short  time,  having  been  carried  with  great  speed 
by  the  orderly  in  charge  of  the  duty.  We  have  scarcely 
been  out  of  our  saddles  since  you  left.  However,  I  think 
we  have  been  of  use,  for  we  have  been  busy  all  round  the 
enemy  since  we  arrived  here  in  the  afternoon,  and  I 
fancy  he  must  think  us  a  good  deal  stronger  than  we  are. 
At  any  rate,  he  has  not  pushed  his  cavalry  forward  at  all; 
and,  as  you  say  Johnston  will  be  up  to-morrow  afternoon, 
Winchester  is  safe  anyhow." 

After  the  Federals  had  recrossed  the  river,  and  John- 
ston had  taken  up  his  position  round  Winchester,  the 
cavalry  returned  to  their  old  work  of  scouting  along  the 
Potomac. 

On  the  20th  of  June  movements  of  considerable  bodies 
of  the  enemy  were  noticed;  and  Johnston  at  once  dis- 
patched Jackson  with  his  brigade  to  Martinsburg,  with 
orders  to  send  as  much  of  the  rolling-stock  of  the  rail- 
road as  could  be  removed  to  Winchester,  to  destroy  the 
rest,  and  to  support  Stuart's  cavalry  when  they  advanced. 
A  number  of  locomotives  were  sent  to  Winchester  along 
the  highroad,  drawn  by  teams  of  horses.  Forty  engines 
and  300  cars  were  burned  or  destroyed,  and  Jackson  then 
advanced  and  took  up  his  position  on  the  road  to  Will- 
iamsport,  the  cavalry  camp  being  a  little  in  advance  of 
him.     This  was  pleasant  for  Vincent,  as  when  off  duty 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  97 

lie  spent  his  time  with  his  friends  and  schoolfellows  in 
Jackson's  brigade. 

On  the  2d  of  July  the  scouts  rode  into  camp  with  the 
news  that  a  strong  force  was  advancing  from  Williams- 
port.  Jackson  at  once  advanced  with  the  5th  Virginia 
Infantry,  numbering  380  men  and  one  gun,  while 
Stuart,  with  100  cavalry,  started  to  make  a  circuitous 
route,  and  harass  the  flank  and  rear  of  the  enemy. 
There  was  no  intention  on  the  part  of  Jackson  of  fight- 
ing a  battle,  his  orders  being  merely  to  feel  the  enemy; 
whose  strength  was  far  too  great  to  be  withstood  even 
had  he  brought  his  whole  brigade  into  action,  for  they 
numbered  three  brigades  of  infantry,  500  cavalry,  and 
some  artillery. 

For  some  hours  the  little  Confederate  force  skirmished 
so  boldly  that  they  checked  the  advance  of  the  enemy, 
whose  general  naturally  supposed  that  he  had  before  him 
the  advance  guard  of  a  strong  force,  and  therefore 
moved  forward  with  great  caution.  Then  the  Confed- 
erates, being  threatened  on  both  flanks  by  the  masses  of 
the  Federals,  fell  back  in  good  order.  The  loss  was  very 
trifling  on  either  side,  but  the  fact  that  so  small  a  force 
had  for  hours  checked  the  advance  of  an  army  greatly 
raised  the  spirits  and  confidence  of  the  Confederates. 
Stuart's  small  cavalry  force,  coming  down  upon  the 
enemy's  rear,  captured  a  good  many  prisoners — Colonel 
Stuart  himself  capturing  forty-four  infantry.  Eiding 
some  distance  ahead  of  his  troop  to  find  out  the  position 
of  the  enemy,  he  came  upon  a  company  of  Federal  in- 
fantry sitting  down  in  a  field,  having  no  idea  whatever 
that  any  Confederate  force  was  in  the  neighborhood. 
Stuart  did  not  hesitate  a  moment,  but  riding  up  to  them 
shouted  the  order,  "Thrown  down  your  arms,  or  you  are 
all  dead  men."  Believing  themselves  surrounded,  the 
Federals  threw  down  their  arms,  and  when  the  Confed- 
erate cavalry  came  up  were  marched  off  as  prisoners. 


98  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Jackson,  on  reaching  his  camp,  struck  his  tents  and 
sent  them  to  the  rear,  and  formed  up  his  whole  brigade 
in  order  of  battle.  The  Federals,  however,  instead  of 
attacking,  continued  their  flank  movement,  and  Jackson 
fell  back  through  Martinsburg  and  halted  for  the  night  a 
mile  beyond  the  town. 

Next  day  he  again  retired,  and  was  joined  six  miles 
further  on  by  Johnston's  whole  force.  For  four  days 
the  little  army  held  its  position,  prepared  to  give  battle 
if  the  enemy  advanced;  but  the  Federals,  though  greatly 
superior  in  numbers,  remained  immovable  at  Martins- 
burg, and  Johnston,  to  the  great  disgust  of  his  troops, 
retired  to  Winchester.  The  soldiers  were  longing  to 
meet  the  invaders  -in  battle,  but  their  general  had  to  bear 
in  mind  that  the  force  under  his  command  might  at  any 
moment  be  urgently  required  to  join  the  main  Confed- 
erate army,  and  aid  in  opposing  the  Northern  advance 
upon  Eichmond. 

Stuart's  cavalry  kept  him  constantly  informed  of  the 
strength  of  the  enemy  gathering  in  his  front.  Making 
circuits  round  Martinsburg,  they  learned  from  the 
farmers  what  numbers  of  troops  each  day  came  along; 
and  while  the  Federals  knew  nothing  of  the  force  op- 
posed to  them,  and  believed  that  it  far  outnumbered 
their  own,  General  Johnston  knew  that  Patterson's  force 
numbered  about  22,000  men,  while  he  himself  had  been 
joined  only  by  some  3,000  men  since  he  arrived  at  Win- 
chester. 

On  the  18th  of  July  a  telegram  from  the  government 
at  Eichmond  announced  that  the  Federal  grand  army 
had  driven  in  General  Beauregard's  pickets  at  Manassas, 
and  had  begun  to  advance,  and  Johnston  was  directed  if 
possible  to  hasten  to  his  assistance.  A  few  earthworks 
had  been  thrown  up  at  Winchester,  and  some  guns 
mounted  upon  them,  and  the  town  was  left  under  the 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  99 

protection  of  the  local  militia.  Stuart's  cavalry  was 
posted  in  a  long  line  across  the  country  to  prevent  any 
news  of  the  movement  reaching  the  enemy.  As  sorn  as 
this  was  done  the  infantry,  8,300  strong,  marched  off. 
The  troops  were  in  high  spirits  now,  for  they  knew  that 
their  long  period  of  inactivity  was  over,  and  that,  al- 
though ignorant  when  and  where,  they  were  on  their 
march  to  meet  the  enemy. 

They  had  no  wagons  or  rations;  the  need  for  speed 
was  too  urgent  even  to  permit  of  food  being  cooked. 
Without  a  halt  they  pressed  forward  steadily,  and  after 
two  days'  march,  exhausted  and  half-famished,  they 
reached  the  Manassas  Gap  Kailroad.  Here  they  were 
put  into  trains  as  fast  as  these  could  be  prepared,  and  by 
noon  on  the  20th  joined  Beauregard  at  Manassas.  The 
cavalry  had  performed  their  duty  of  preventing  the  news 
of  the  movement  from  reaching  the  enemy  until  the  in- 
fantry were  nearly  a  day's  march  away,  and  then  Stuart 
reassembled  his  men  and  followed  Johnston.  Thus  the 
Confederate  plans  had  been  completely  successful.  Over 
30,000  of  the  enemy,  instead  of  being  in  line  of  battle 
with  the  main  army,  were  detained  before  Winchester, 
while  the  little  Confederate  force  who  had  been  facing 
them  had  reached  Beauregard  in  time  to  take  part  in  the 
approaching  struggle. 

In  the  North  no  doubt  as  to  the  power  of  the  grand 
army  to  make  its  way  to  Richmond  was  entertained.  The 
troops  were  armed  with  the  best  weapons  obtainable,  the 
artillery  was  numerous  and  excellent,  the  army  was  fed 
with  every  luxury,  and  so  confident  were  the  men  of 
success  that  they  regarded  the  whole  affair  in  the  light  of 
a  great  picnic.  The  grand  army  numbered  55,000  men, 
with  9  regiments  of  cavalry  and  49  rifled-guns.  To  oppose 
these,  the  Confederate  force,  after  the  arrival  of  John- 
ston's army,  numbered  27,833  infantry.,  35  smooth-bored 


100  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

guns,  and  500  cavalry.  Many  of  the  infantry  were  armed 
only  with  shot-guns  and  old  fowling-pieces,  and  the  guns 
were  small  and  ill-supplied  with  ammunition.  There 
had  been  some  sharp  fighting  on  the  18th,  and  the  Fed- 
eral advance  across  the  river  of  Bull  Bun  had  been 
sharply  repulsed,  therefore  their  generals  determined,  in- 
stead of  making  a  direct  attack  on  the  31st  against  the 
Confederate  position,  to  take  a  wide  sweep  round,  cross 
the  river  higher  up,  and  falling  upon  the  Confederate 
left  flank,  to  crumple  it  up. 

All  night  the  Federal  troops  had  marched,  and  at  day- 
break on  the  21st  nearly  40,000  men  were  in  position  on 
the  left  flank  of  the  Confederates.  The  latter  were  not 
taken  by  surprise  when  Stuart's  cavalry  brought  in  news 
of  the  Federal  movement,  and  General  Beauregard,  in- 
stead of  moving  his  troops  toward  the  threatened  point, 
sent  orders  to  General  Longstreet  on  the  right  to  cross 
the  river  as  soon  as  the  battle  began,  and  to  fall  upon  the 
Federal  flank  and  rear. 

Had  this  movement  been  carried  out,  the  destruction 
of  the  Federal  army  would  have  been  complete;  but  by 
one  of  those  unfortunate  accidents  which  so  frequently 
cccur  in  war  and  upset  the  best  laid  plans,  the  order  in 
some  way  never  came  to  hand,  and  when  late  in  the  day 
the  error  was  discovered  it  was  too  late  to  remedy  it. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  two  of  the  Federal 
divisions  reached  the  river,  and  while  one  of  them  en- 
gaged the  Confederate  force  stationed  at  the  bridge, 
another  crossed  the  river  at  a  ford.  Colonel  Evans,  who 
commanded  the  Confederate  forces,  which  numbered  but 
fifteen  companies,  left  200  men  to  continue  to  hold  the 
bridge,  while  with  800  he  hurried  to  oppose  General 
Hunter's  division,  which  had  crossed  at  the  ford. 

This  consisted  of  16,000  infantry,  with  cavalry  and 
ar,  MUery,  and  another  division  of  equal  force  had  crossed 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  101 

at  the  Eed  House  ford  higher  up.  To  check  so  great  a 
force  with  this  handful  of  men  seemed  all  but  impossible; 
but  Colonel  Evans  determined  to  hold  his  ground  to  the 
last,  to  enable  his  general  to  bring  up  reinforcements. 
His  force  consisted  of  men  of  South  Carolina  and  Louis- 
iana, and  they  contested  every  foot  of  the  ground. 

The  regiment  which  formed  the  advance  of  the  Fed- 
erals charged,  supported  by  an  artillery  fire,  butjwas  re- 
pulsed. As  the  heavy  Federal  line  advanced,  however, 
the  Confederates  were  slowly  but  steadily  pressed  back, 
until  General  Bee,  with  four  regiments  and  a  battery  of 
artillery,  came  up  to  their  assistance.  The  newcomers 
threw  themselves  into  the  fight  with  great  gallantry,  and 
maintained  their  ground  until  almost  annihilated  by  the 
fire  of  the  enemy,  who  outnumbered  them  by  five  to  one. 
As,  fighting  desperately,  they  fell  back  before  Hunter's 
division,  the  Federals  who  had  crossed  at  Eed  House  Ford 
suddenly  poured  down  and  took  them  in  flank. 

Swept  by  a  terrible  musketry  fire,  these  troops  could  no 
longer  resist,  and  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  their  general, 
who  rode  among  them  imploring  them  to  stand  firm 
until  aid  arrived,  they  began  to  fall  back.  Neither  en- 
treaties nor  commands  were  of  avail;  the  troops  had  done 
al.  that  they  could,  and  broken  and  disheartened  they 
retreated  in  great  confusion.  But  at  this  moment,  when 
all  seemed  lost,  a  line  of  glittering  bayonets  was  seen 
corning  over  the  hill  behind,  and  the  general,  riding  off 
in  haste  toward  them,  found  Jackson  advancing  with  the 
first  brigade. 

Unmoved  by  the  rush  of  the  fugitives  of  the  brigades 
of  Bee  and  Evans,  Jackson  moved  steadily  forward,  and 
so  firm  and  resolute  was  their  demeanor  that  Bee  rode 
after  his  men,  and  pointing  with  his  sword  to  the  first 
brigade,  shouted,  "Look,  there  is  Jackson  standing  like 
a  stone  wall!"     The  general's  words  were  repeated,  and 


102  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

henceforth  the  brigade  was  known  as  the  Stonewall 
Brigade,  and  their  general  by  the  nickname  of  Stonewall 
Jackson,  by  which  he  was  ever  afterward  known.  The 
greater  part  of  the  fugitives  rallied,  and  took  up  their 
position  on  the  right  of  Jackson,  and  the  Federal  forces, 
who  were  hurrying  forward  assured  of  victory,  found 
themselves  confronted  suddenly  by  2,600  bayonets. 
After  a  moment's  pause  they  pressed  forward  again,  the 
artillery  preparing  a  way  for  them  by  a  tremendous  fire. 

Jackson  ordered  his  men  to  lie  down  until  the  enemy 
arrived  within  fifty  yards,  and  then  to  charge  with  the 
bayonet.  Just  at  this  moment  Generals  Johnston  and 
Beauregard  arrived  on  the  spot,  and  at  once  seeing  the 
desperate  nature  of  the  situation,  and  the  whole  Federal 
army  pressing  forward  against  a  single  brigade,  they  did 
their  best  to  prepare  to  meet  the  storm.  First  they  gal- 
loped up  and  down  the  disordered  lines  of  Bee,  exhorting 
the  men  to  stand  firm;  and  seizing  the  colors  of  the  4th 
Alabama,  Johnston  led  them  forward,  and  formed  them 
up  under  fire. 

Beauregard  hurried  up  some  reinforcements  and 
formed  them  on  the  left  of  Jackson,  and  thus  6,500  in- 
fantry and  artillery,  and  Stuart's  two  troops  of  cavalry, 
stood  face  to  face  with  more  than  20,000  infantry  and 
seven  troops  of  regular  cavalry,  behind  whom  at  the 
lower  fords  were  35,000  men  in  reserve.  While  his  men 
were  lying  down  awaiting  the  attack,  Jackson  rode  back- 
ward and  forward  in  front  of  them  as  calm  and  as  uncon- 
cerned to  all  appearance  as  if  on  the  parade  ground,  and 
his  quiet  bravery  greatly  nerved  and  encouraged  the 
young  troops. 

All  at  once  the  tremendous  artillery  fire  of  the  enemy 
ceased,  and  their  infantry  came  on  in  massive  lines.  The 
four  Confederate  guns  poured  in  their  fire  and  then 
withdrew  behind   the   infantry.      When  the  line   came 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  103 

within  fifty  yards  of  him,  Jackson  gave  the  word,  his 
men  sprang  to  their  feet,  poured  in  a  heavy  volley,  and 
then  charged.  A  wild  yell  rose  from  both  ranks  as  they 
closed,  and  then  they  were  mingled  in  a  desperate  con- 
flict. For  a  time  all  was  in  wild  confusion,  but  the  ardor 
and  courage  of  Jackson's  men  prevailed,  and  they  burst 
through  the  center  of  the  Federal  line. 

Immediately  Jackson  had  charged,  Beauregard  sent 
forward  the  rest  of  the  troops,  and  for  a  time  a  tremen- 
dous struggle  took  place  along  the  whole  line.  Gen- 
erals Bee  and  Barlow  fell  mortally  wounded  at  the  head 
of  their  troops.  General  Hampton  was  wounded,  and 
many  of  the  colonels  fell.  So  numerous  were  the  Fed- 
erals that  although  Jackson  had  pierced  their  center, 
their  masses  drove  back  his  flanks  and  threatened  to  sur- 
round him.  With  voice  and  example  he  cheered  on  his 
men  to  hold  their  ground,  and  the  officers  closed  up  their 
ranks  as  they  were  thinned  by  the  enemy's  fire,  and  for 
an  hour  the  struggle  continued  without  marked  advan- 
tage on  either  side. 

Jackson's  calmness  was  unshaken  even  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  fight.  At  one  time  an  officer  rode  up  to  him 
from  another  portion  of  the  field  and  exclaimed,  "Gen- 
eral, I  think  the  day  is  going  against  us!"  To  which 
Jackson  replied  in  his  usual  curt  manner,  "If  you  think 
so,  sir,  you  had  better  not  say  anything  about  it." 

The  resolute  stand  of  the  Confederates  enabled  General 
Beauregard  to  bring  up  fresh  troops,  and  he  at  last  gave 
the  word  to  advance. 

Jackson's  brigade  rushed  forward  on  receiving  the 
order,  burst  through  the  Federals  with  whom  they  were 
engaged,  and,  supported  by  the  reserves,  drove  the 
enemy  from  the  plateau.  But  the  Federals,  still  vastly 
superior  in  force,  brought  up  the  reserves,  and  prepared 
to  renew  the  attack;  but  1,700  fresh  men  of  the  army  of 


104  WITH  LEE  IW  VIRGINIA. 

the  Shenandoah  came  upon  the  field  of  battle,  Smith  and 
Early  brought  up  their  division  from  the  river,  and  the 
whole  Southern  line  advanced  at  the  charge,  drove  the 
enemy  down  the  slopes  and  on  toward  the  fords. 

A  panic  seized  them,  and  their  regiments  broke  up 
and  took  to  headlong  flight,  which  soon  became  an  utter 
rout.  Many  of  them  continued  their  flight  for  hours, 
and  for  a  time  the  Federal  army  ceased  to  exist;  and  had 
the  Confederates  advanced,  as  Jackson  desired  that  they 
should  do,  Washington  would  have  fallen  into  their  hands 
without  a  blow  being  struck  in  its  defense. 

This,  the  first  great  battle  of  the  war,  is  sometimes 
known  as  the  battle  of  Manassas,  but  more  generally  as 
Bull  Eun. 

With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  charges,  the  little 
body  of  Confederate  horse  did  not  take  any  part  in  the 
battle  of  Bull  Eun.  Had  they  been  aware  of  the  utter 
stampede  of  the  Northern  troops,  they  could  safely  have 
pressed  forward  in  hot  pursuit  as  far  as  Washington,  but 
being  numerically  so  inferior  to  the  Federal  cavalry,  and 
in  ignorance  that  the  Northern  infantry  had  become  a 
mere  panic-stricken  mob,  it  would  have  been  imprudent 
in  the  extreme  for  such  a  handful  of  cavalry  to  under- 
take the  pursuit  of  an  army. 

Many  of  the  Confederates  were  of  opinion  that  this 
decisive  victory  would  be  the  end  of  the  war,  and  that 
the  North,  seeing  that  the  South  was  able  as  well  as  will- 
ing to  defend  the  position  it  had  taken  up,  would 
abandon  the  idea  of  coercing  it  into  submission.  This 
hope  was  speedily  dissipated.  The  North  was  indeed 
alike  astonished  and  disappointed  at  the  defeat  of  their 
army  by  a  greatly  inferior  force,  but  instead  of  abandon- 
ing the  struggle,  they  set  to  work  to  retrieve  the  disaster, 
and  to  place  in  the  field  a  force  which  would,  they  be*, 
lieved,  prove  irresistible. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  105 

Vincent  Wingfield  saw  but  little  of  the  battle  at  Bull 
Kim.  As  they  were  impatiently  waiting  the  order  to 
charge,  while  the  desperate  conflict  between  Jackson's 
brigade  and  the  enemy  was  at  its  fiercest,  a  shell  from 
one  of  the  Federal  batteries  burst  a  few  yards  in  front  of 
the  troop,  and  one  of  the  pieces  striking  Vincent  on  the 
side  hurled  him  insensible  from  his  horse.  He  was  at 
once  lifted  and  carried  by  Dan  and  some  of  the  other 
men-servants,  who  had  been  told  off  for  this  duty,  to  the 
rear,  where  the  surgeons  were  busily  engaged  in  dressing 
the  wounds  of  the  men  who  straggled  back  from  the 
front.  While  the  conflict  lasted  those  unable  to  walk  lay 
where  they  fell,  for  no  provision  had  at  present  been 
made  for  ambulance  corps,  and  not  a  single  man  capable 
of  firing  a  musket  could  be  spared  from  the  ranks.  The 
tears  were  flowing  copiously  down  Dan's  cheeks  as  he 
stood  by  while  the  surgeons  examined  Vincent's  wound. 
"Is  he  dead,  sab?"  he  sobbed  a::  they  lifted  him  up  from 
his  stooping  position. 

"Dead!"  the  surgeon  repeated.  "Can't  you  see  he  is 
breathing,  and  did  you  not  hear  him  groan  when  I  ex- 
amined his  side?  He  is  a  long  way  from  being  a  dead 
man  yet.  Some  of  his  ribs  are  broken,  and  he  has  had  a 
very  nasty  blow;  but  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  cause 
for  anxiety  about  him.  Pour  a  little  wine  down  his 
throat,  and  sprinkle  his  face  with  water.  Eaise  his  head 
"and  put  a  coat  under  it,  and  when  he  opens  his  eyes  and 
begins  to  recover,  don't  let  him  move.  Then  you  can 
cut  up  the  side  of  his  jacket  and  down  the  sleeve,  so  as 
to  get  it  off  that  side  altogether.  Cut  his  shirt  open, 
and  bathe  the  wound  with  some  water  and  bit  of  rag  of 
any  sort;  it  is  not  likely  to  bleed  much.  When  it  has 
stopped  bleeding  put  a  pad  of  linen  upon  it,  and  keep  it 
wet.  When  we  can  spare  time  we  will  bandage  it  prop- 
erly." 


106  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

But  it  was  not  until  late  at  night  that  the  time  could 
be  spared  for  attending  to  Vincent;  for  the  surgeons 
were  overwhelmed  with  work,  and  the  most  serious  cases 
were,  as  far  as  possible,  first  attended  to.  He  had  soon 
recovered  consciousness.  At  first  he  looked  with  a  feel- 
ing of  bewilderment  at  Dan,  who  was  copiously  sprinkling 
his  face  with  water,  sobbing  loudly  while  he  did  so.  As 
soon  as  the  negro  perceived  that  his  master  had  opened 
his  eyes  he  gave  a  cry  of  delight. 

"Tank  ae  Lord,  Marse  Vincent;  dis  child  tought  you 
dead  and  gone  for  sure." 

"What's  the  matter,  Dan?  What  has  happened?" 
Vincent  said,  trying  to  move,  and  then  stopping  sud- 
denly with  a  cry  of  pain. 

"You  knocked  off  your  horse,  sah,  wid  one  of  shells  of 
dem  cussed  Yanks." 

"Am  I  badly  hurt,  Dan?" 

"Bery  bad,  sah;  great  piece  of  flesh  pretty  nigh  as 
big  as  my  hand  come  out  ob  your  side,  and  doctor  says 
some  of  de  ribs  broken.  But  de  doctor  not  seem  to  make 
much  ob  it;  he  hard  sort  ob  man  dat.  Say  you  get  all 
right  again.  No  time  to  tend  to  you  now.  Hurry  away 
just  as  if  you  some  poor  white  trash  instead  of  Massa 
Wingfield  ob  de  Orangery." 

Vincent  smiled  faintly. 

"It  doesn't  make  much  difference  what  a  man  is  in  a 
Burgeon's  eyes,  Dan;  the  question  is  how  badly  he  is  hurt," 
and  what  can  be  done  for  him?  Well,  thank  God  it's  no 
worse.     Wildfire  was  not  hurt,  I  hope?" 

"No,  sah;  he  is  standing  tied  up  by  dat  tree.  Now, 
sah,  de  doctor  say  me  cut  your  jacket  off  and  bave  de 
wound." 

"All  right,  Dan;  but  be  a  little  careful  with  the  water, 
you  seem  to  be  pretty  near  drowning  me  as  it  is.  Just 
wipe  my  face  and  hair,  and  get  the  handkerchief  from 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  10T 

the  pocket  of  my  jacket,  and  open  the  shirt  collar  and 
put  the  handkerchief  inside  round  my  neck.  How  is  the 
battle  going  on?     The  roar  seems  louder  than  ever." 

Dan  went  forward  to  the  crest  of  a  slight  rise  of  the 
ground  whence  he  could  look  down  upon  the  field  of 
battle,  and  made  haste  to  return. 

"Can't  see  bery  well,  sah;  too  much  smoke.  But  dey 
in  de  same  place  still." 

"Look  round,  Dan,  and  see  if  there  are  any  fresh 
troops  coming  up." 

"Yes,  sah:  lot  of  men  coming  ober  de  hill  behind." 

"That's  all  right,  Dan.  Now  you  can  see  about  this 
bathing  my  side." 

As  soon  as  the  battle  was  over  Major  Ashley  rode  up  to 
where  Vincent  and  five  or  six  of  his  comrades  of  the 
cavalry  were  lying  wounded. 

"How  are  you  getting  on,  lads?  Pretty  well,  I  hope?" 
he  asked  the  surgeon  as  he  dismounted. 

"First-rate,  major,"  one  of  the  men  answered.  "We 
all  of  us  took  a  turn  as  soon  as  we  heard  that  the  Yanks 
were  whipped." 

"Yes,  we  have  thrashed  them  handsomely,"  the  major 
said.  "Ah,  Wingneld,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  are  alive.  I 
thought  when  you  fell  it  was  all  over  with  you." 

"I  am  not  much  hurt,  sir,"  Vincent  replied.  "A  flesh 
wound  and  some  ribs  are  broken,  I  hear;  but  they  won't 
be  long  mending  I  hope." 

"It's  a  nasty  wound  to  look  at,"  the  major  said,  as  Dan 
lifted  the  pad  of  wet  linen.  "But  with  youth  and  health 
you  will  soon  get  round  it,  never  fear." 

"Ah,  my  poor  lad,  yours  is  a  worse  case,"  he  said  as 
he  bent  over  a  young  fellow  who  was  lying  a  few  paces 
from  Vincent. 

"It's  all  up  with  me,  major,"  he  replied  faintly;  "the 
doctor  said  he  could  do  nothing  for  me.     But  I  don't 


103  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

minu ,  now  we  have  beaten  them.  You  will  send  a  line  tc 
the  old  people,  major,  won't  you,  and  say  I  died  doing 
my  duty?  I've  got  two  brothers,  and  I  expect  they  will 
Bond  one  on  to  take  my  jnace." 

"I  will  write  to  them,  my  lad,"  the  major  said,  "and 
tell  them  all  about  you."  He  could  give  the  lad  no  false 
hopes,  for  already  a  gray  shade  was  stealing  over  the 
white  face,  and  the  end  was  close  at  hand;  in  a  few  min- 
utes he  ceased  to  breathe. 

Late  in  the  evening  the  surgeons,  having  attended  to 
more  urgent  cases,  came  round.  Vincent's  wound  was 
now  more  carefully  examined  than  before,  but  the  result 
was  the  same.  Three  of  the  ribs  were  badly  fractured, 
but  there  was  no  serious  danger. 

"You  will  want  quiet  and  good  nursing  for  some  time, 
my  lad,"  the  principal  surgeon  said.  "-There  will  be  a 
train  of  wounded  going  off  for  Pdchmond  the  first  thing 
in  the  morning,  and  you  shall  go  by  it.  You  had  better 
get  a  door,  lads,"  he  said  to  some  of  the  troopers  who 
had  come  across  from  the  spot  where  the  cavalry  were 
bivouacked  to  see  how  their  comrades  were  getting  on, 
"and  carry  him  down  and  put  him  in  the  train.  One  has 
just  been  sent  off,  and  another  will  be  made  up  at  once, 
so  that  the  wounded  can  be  put  in  it  as  they  are  taken 
down.  Nov/  I  will  bandage  the  wound,  and  it  will  not 
want  any  more  attention  until  you  get  home." 

A  wad  of  lint  was  placed  upon  the  wound  and  bandaged 
tightly  round  the  body. 

"Remember  you  have  got  to  lie  perfectly  quiet,  and 
not  attempt  to  move  till  the  bones  have  knit.  I  am 
afraid  that  they  are  badly  fractured,  and  will  require 
some  time  to  heal  up  again." 

A  door  was  fetched  from  an  outhouse  near,  and  Vin- 
cent and  two  of  his  comrades,  who  were  also  ordered  to 
be  sent  to  the  rear,  were  one  by  one  carried  down  to  the 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  109 

nearest  point  on  the  railway,  where  a  train  stood  ready  to 
receive  them,  and  they  were  then  laid  on  the  seats. 

All  night  the  wounded  kept  arriving,  and  by  morning 
the  train  was  packed  as  full  as  it  would  hold,  and  with 
two  or  three  surgeons  in  charge  started  for  Richmond. 
Dan  was  permitted  to  accompany  the  train,  at  Vincent's 
urgent  request,  in  the  character  of  doctor's  assistant, 
and  he  went  about  distributing  water  to  the  wounded, 
and  assisting  the  surgeons  in  moving  such  as  required  it. 

It  was  night  before  the  train  reached  Richmond.  A 
number  of  people  were  at  the  station  to  receive  it;  for  as 
soon  as  the  news  of  the  battle  had  been  received,  prepara- 
tions had  been  made  for  the  reception  of  the  wounded, 
several  public  buildings  had  been  converted  into  hos- 
pitals, and  numbers  of  the  citizens  had  come  forward 
with  offers  to  take  one  or  more  of  the  wounded  into  their 
houses.  The  streets  were  crowded  with  people,  who 
were  wild  with  joy  at  the  news  of  the  victory  which,  as 
they  believed,  had  secured  the  State  from  any  further 
fear  of  invasion.  Numbers  of  willing  hands  were  in 
readiness  to  carry  the  wounded  on  stretchers  to  the  hos- 
pitals, where  all  the  surgeons  of  the  town  were  already 
waiting  to  attend  upon  them. 

Vincent,  at  his  own  request,  was  only  laid  upon  a  bed, 
as  he  said  that  he  would  go  home  to  be  nursed  the  first 
thing  in  the  morning.  This  being  the  case  it  was  need- 
less to  put  him  to  the  pain  and  trouble  of  being  un- 
dressed. Dan  had  started  as  soon  as  he  saw  his  master 
carried  into  the  hospital  to  take  the  news  to  the 
Orangery,  being  strictly  charged  by  Vincent  to  make 
light  of  his  injury,  and  on  no  account  whatever  to  alarm 
them.  He  was  to  ask  that  the  carriage  should  come  to 
fetch  him  the  first  thing  in  the  morning. 

It  was  indeed  but  just  daybreak  when  Mrs.  Wingfield 
drove  up  to  the   hospital.     Dan   had   been   so   severely 


110  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

cross-examined  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  give  an  ao« 
curate  account  of  Vincent's  injury.  There  was  bustle 
and  movement  even  at  that  early  hour,  for  another  train 
of  "wounded  had  just  arrived.  As  she  entered  the  hos- 
pital she  gave  an  exclamation  of  pleasure,  for  at  the  door 
were  two  gentlemen  in  conversation,  one  of  whom  was 
the  doctor  who  had  long  attended  the  family  at  the 
Orangery. 

"I  am  glad  you  are  here,  Dr.  Mapleston;  for  I  want 
your  opinion  before  I  move  Vincent.  Have  you  seen 
him?" 

"No,  Mrs.  Wingfield;  I  did  not  know  he  was  here.  I 
have  charge  of  one  of  the  wards,  and  have  not  had  time 
to  see  who  are  in  the  others.  I  sincerely  hope  Vincent 
is  not  seriously  hurt." 

"That's  what  I  want  to  find  out,  doctor.  His  boy 
brought  us  news  late  last  night  that  he  was  here.  He 
said  the  doctors  considered  that  lie  was  not  in  any 
danger;  but  as  it  seems  that  he  had  three  ribs  broken 
and  a  deep  flesh  wound  from  the  explosion  of  a  shell,  it 
seems  to  me  that  it  must  be  serious." 

"I  will  go  up  and  see  him  at  once,  Mrs.  Wingfield,  and 
find  out  from  the  surgeon  in  charge  of  his  ward  exactly 
what  is  the  matter  with  him."  Dan  led  the  way  to  the 
b  d  upon  which  Vincent  was  lying.  He  was  only  doz- 
ing, and  opened  his  eyes  as  they  came  up. 

"My  poor  boy,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  said,  struggling  with 
her  tears  at  the  sight  of  his  pale  face,  "this  is  sad  in- 
deed." 

"It  is  nothing  very  bad,  mother,"  Vincent  replied 
cheerfully;  "nothing  at  all  to  fret  about.  The  woimd  is 
nothing  to  the  injuries  of  most  of  those  here.  I  suppose, 
doctor,  I  can  be  moved  at  once?" 

Dr.  Mapleston  felt  his  pulse. 

"You  are  feverish,  my  lad;  but  perhaps  the  best  thing 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  1H 

for  you  would  be  to  get  you  home  while  you  cau  be 
moved.  You  will  do  far  better  there  than  here.  But  I 
must  speak  to  the  surgeon  in  charge  of  you  first,  and 
hear  what  he  says." 

"Yes,  I  think  you  can  move  him,"  the  surgeon  of  the 
ward  said.  "He  has  got  a  nasty  wound,  and  the  ticket 
with  him  said  that  three  ribs  were  badly  fractured;  but  I 
made  no  examination,  as  he  said  he  would  be  fetched  the 
first  thing  this  morning.  I  only  put  on  a  fresh  dressing 
and  bandaged  it.  The  sooner  you  get  him  off  the  better, 
if  he  is  to  be  moved.  Fever  is  setting  in,  and  he  will 
probably  be  wandering  by  this  evening.  He  will  have  a 
much  better  chance  at  home,  with  cool  rooms  and  quiet 
and  careful  nursing,  than  he  can  have  here;  though 
there  would  be  no  lack  of  either  comforts  or  nurses,  for 
half  the  ladies  in  the  town  have  volunteered  for  the  work, 
and  we  have  offers  of  all  the  medical  comforts  that  could 
be  required  were  the  list  of  wounded  ten  times  as  large 
as  it  is." 

A  stretcher  was  brought  in,  and  Vincent  was  lifted  as 
gently  as  possible  upon  it.  Then  he  was  carried  down- 
stairs and  the  stretcher  placed  in  the  carriage,  which  was 
a  large  open  one,  and  afforded  just  sufficient  length  for  it. 
Mrs.  Wingfield  took  her  seat  beside  him.  Dan  mounted 
the  box  beside  the  coachman. 

"I  will  be  out  in  an  hour,  Mrs.  Wingfield,"  Dr.  Maple- 
ston  said.  "I  have  to  go  round  the  ward  again,  and  will 
then  drive  out  at  once.  Give  him  lemonade  and  cooling 
drinks;  don't  let  him  talk.  Cut  his  clothes  off  him,  and 
keep  the  room  somewhat  dark,  but  with  a  free  current  of 
air.     I  will  bring  out  some  medicine  with  me." 

The  carriage  drove  slowly  to  avoid  shaking,  and  when 
they  approached  the  house  Mrs.  Wingfield  told  Dan  to 
jump  down  and  come  to  the  side  of  her  carriage.  Then 
she  told  him  to  run  on  as  fast  as  he  could  ahead,  and  to 


112  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

tell  her  daughters  riot  to  meet  them  upon  their  arrival, 
aud  that  all  the  servants  were  to  be  kept  out  of  the  way, 
except  three  men  to  carry  Vincent  upstairs.  The  lad 
was  consequently  got  up  to  his  room  without  any  excite- 
ment, and  was  soon  lying  on  his  bed  with  a  sheet  thrown 
lightly  over  him. 

"That  is  comfortable,"  he  said,  as  his  mother  bathed 
his  face  and  hands  and  smoothed  his  hair.  "Where  are 
the  girls,  mother?" 

"They  will  come  in  to  see  you  now,  Vincent;  but  you 
are  to  keep  quite  quiet  you  know,  and  not  to  talk."  The 
girls  stole  in  and  said  a  few  words,  and  left  him  alone 
again  with  Mrs.  Wingfield.  He  did  not  look  to  them  so 
ill  as  they  had  expected,  for  there  was  a  flush  of  fever  on 
his  cheeks.  Dr.  Mapleston  arrived  in  another  half-hour, 
examined  and  redressed  the  wound,  and  comforted  Mrs. 
Wingfield  with  the  assurance  that  there  was  nothing  in 
it  likely  to  prove  dangerous  to  life. 

"Our  trouble  will  be  rather  with  the  effect  of  the 
shock  than  with  the  wound  itself.  He  is  very  feverish 
now,  and  you  must  not  be  alarmed  if  by  this  evening  he 
is  delirious.  You  will  give  him  this  cooling  draught 
every  three  hours;  he  can  have  anything  in  the  way  of 
cooling  drinks  he  likes.  If  he  begins  to  wander,  put 
cloths  dipped  in  cold  water  and  wrung  out  on  his  head, 
and  sponge  his  hands  with  water  with  a  little  eau  &$ 
Cologne  in  it.  If  he  seems  very  hot  set  one  of  the  women 
to  fan  him,  but  don't  let  her  go  on  if  it  seems  to  worry 
him.  I  will  come  round  again  at  half-past  nine  this 
evening  and  will  make  arrangements  to  pass  the  night 
here.  We  have  telegrams  saying  that  surgeons  are  com- 
ing from  Charleston  and  many  other  places,  so  I  can  very 
well  be  spared." 

When  the  doctor  returned  in  the  evening,  he  found, 
as  he  had  anticipated,  that  Vincent  was  in  a  high  state  of 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  113 

fever.  This  continued  four  or  five  days,  and  then  grad- 
ually passed  off;  and  he  woke  up  one  morning  perfectly 
conscious.  His  mother  was  sitting  on  a  chair  at  the  bed- 
side. 

"What  o'clock  is  it,  mother?"  he  asked.  "Have  I 
been  asleep  long?" 

"Some  time,  dear,"  she  answered  gently;  "but  you 
must  not  talk.  You  are  to  take  this  draught  and  to  go 
off  to  sleep  again;  when  you  wake  you  may  ask  any  ques- 
tions you  like."  She  lifted  the  lad's  head,  gave  him  the 
draught  and  some  cold  tea,  then  darkened  the  room,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  he  was  asleep  again. 


114  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

THE    MEEKIMAC    AND   THE    MONITOR. 

It  was  some  weeks  before  Vincent  was  able  to  walk 
unaided.  His  convalescence  was  somewhat  slow,  for  the 
shock  to  the  system  had  been  a  severe  one.  The  long 
railway  journey  had  been  injurious  to  him,  for  the  band- 
age had  become  somewhat  loose  and  the  broken  pieces 
of  bone  had  grated  upon  each  other,  and  were  much 
longer  in  knitting  together  than  they  would  have  beeij 
had  he  been  treated  on  the  spot. 

As  soon  as  he  could  walk  he  began  to  be  anxious  to 
rejoin  his  troop,  but  the  doctor  said  that  many  weeks 
must  elapse  before  he  would  be  ready  to  undergo  the 
hardships  of  campaign.  He  was  reconciled  to  some  ex- 
tent to  the  delay  by  letters  from  his  friends  with  the 
troop  and  by  the  perusal  of  the  papers.  There  was 
nothing  whatever  doing  in  Virginia.  The  two  armies 
still  faced  each  other,  the  Northerners  protected  by  the 
strong  fortifications  they  had  thrown  up  round  Washing- 
ton— fortifications  much  too  formidable  to  be  attacked 
by  the  Confederates,  held  as  they  were  by  a  force  im- 
mensely superior  to  their  own,  both  in  numbers  and  arms. 

The  Northerners  were  indeed  hard  at  work,  collecting 
and  organizing  an  army  which  was  to  crush  out  the  re- 
bellion. General  Scott  had  been  succeeded  by  McClellan 
in  the  supreme  command,  and  the  new  general  was  inde- 
fatigable in  organizing  the  vast  masses  of  men  raised  in 
the  North.     So  great  were   the   efforts   that   in  a  few 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  115 

months  after  the  defeat  of  Bull  Eun  the  North  had 
650,000  men  in  arms. 

But  while  no  move  had  at  present  been  made  against 
Virginia  there  was  sharp  fighting  in  some  of  the  border 
States,  especially  in  Missouri  and  Kentucky,  in  both  of 
which  public  opinion  was  much  divided,  and  regiments 
were  raised  on  both  sides. 

Various  operations  were  now  undertaken  by  the  Federal 
fleet  at  points  along  the  coast,  and  several  important 
positions  were  taken  and  occupied,  it  being  impossible 
for  the  Confederates  to  defend  so  long  a  line  of  seacoast. 
The  South  had  lost  rather  than  gained  ground  in  conse- 
quence of  their  victory  at  Bull  Eun.  For  a  time  they 
had  been  unduly  elated,  and  were  disposed  altogether  to 
underrate  their  enemies  and  to  believe  that  the  struggle 
was  as  good  as  over.  Thus,  then,  they  made  no  effort  at 
all  corresponding  to  that  of  the  North;  but  as  time  went 
on,  and  they  saw  the  vastness  of  the  preparations  made 
for  their  conquest,  the  people  of  the  Southern  States 
again  bestirred  themselves. 

Owing  to  the  North  having  the  command  of  the  sea, 
and  shutting  up  all  the  principal  ports,  they  had  to  rely 
upon  themselves  for  everything,  while  the  North  could 
draw  arms  and  ammunition  and  all  the  requisites  of  war 
from  the  markets  of  Europe.  Foundries  were  accord- 
ingly established  for  the  manufacture  of  artillery,  and 
factories  for  muskets,  ammunition,  and  percussion  caps. 
The  South  had,  in  fact,  to  manufacture  everything  down 
to  the  cloth  for  her  soldiers'  uniforms  and  the  leather 
for  their  shoes;  and,  as  in  the  past  she  had  relied  wholly 
upon  the  North  for  such  goods,  it  was  for  a  time  impos- 
sible to  supply  the  troops  with  even  the  most  necessary 
articles. 

The  women  throughout  the  States  were  set  to  work, 
spinning  and  weaving  rough  cloth,  and  making  uniforms 


116  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 

from  it.  Leather,  however,  cannot  be  produced  all  at 
once,  and  indeed  with  all  their  efforts  the  Confederate 
authorities  were  never  throughout  the  war  able  to  provide 
a  sufficient  supply  of  boots  for  the  troops,  arid  many  a 
battle  was  won  by  soldiers  who  fought  almost  barefooted 
and  who  reshod  themselves  for  the  most  part  by  stripping 
the  boots  from  their  dead  foes.  Many  other  articles 
could  not  be  produced  in  the  Southern  States,  and  the 
Confederates  suffered  much  from  the  want  of  proper 
medicines  and  surgical  appliances. 

For  these  and  many  other  necessaries  they  had  to 
depend  solely  upon  the  ships  which  succeeded  in  making 
their  way  through  the  enemy's  cruisers  and  running  the 
blockade  of  the  ports.  Wine,  tea,  coffee,  and  other  im- 
ported articles  soon  became  luxuries  beyond  the  means  of 
all,  even  the  very  wealthy.  All  sorts  of  substitutes  were 
used ;  grain  roasted  and  ground  being  chiefly  used  as  a 
substitute  for  coffee.  Hitherto  the  South  had  been  prin- 
cipally occupied  in  raising  cotton  and  tobacco,  dejiending 
chiefly  upon  the  North  for  food;  and  it  was  necessary 
now  to  abandon  the  cultivation  of  products  for  which 
they  had  no  sale,  and  to  devote  the  land  to  the  growth  of 
maize  and  other  crops  for  food. 

By  the  time  that  the  long  period  of  inaction  came  to  a 
close,  Vincent  had  completely  recovered  his  strength, 
and  was  ready  to  rejoin  the  ranks  as  soon  as  the  order 
came  from  Colonel  Stuart,  who  had  promised  to  send  for 
him  directly  there  was  a  prospect  of  active  service. 

One  of  Vincent's  first  questions  as  soon  as  he  became 
convalescent  was  whether  a  letter  had  been  received  from 
Tony.  It  had  come,  he  was  told,  among  the  last  batch 
of  letters  that  crossed  the  frontier  before  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities,  and  Mrs.  "WingQeld,  had.  as  he  had  requested, 
opened  it.  As  had  been  arranged,  it  had  merely  con- 
tained Tony's  address  at  a  village  near  Montreal;  forVin- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  117 

cent  had  warned  him  to  say  nothing  in  the  letter,  for 
there  was  no  saying,  in  the  troubled  time  which  were  ap- 
proaching when  Tony  left,  into  whose  hands  it  might  fall. 

Vincent  had  before  starting  told  his  mother  of  the 
share  he  had  taken  in  getting  the  negro  safely  away,  and 
Mrs.  Wingfield,  brought  up  as  she  had  been  to  regard 
those  who  assisted  runaway  slaves  to  escape  in  the  same 
light  as  those  who  assisted  to  steal  any  other  kind  of 
property,  was  at  first  greatly  shocked  when  she  heard 
that  her  son  had  taken  part  in  such  an  enterprise,  how- 
ever worthy  of  compassion  the  slave  might  be,  and  how- 
ever brutal  the  master  from  whose  hands  he  had  fled. 
However,  as  Vincent  was  on  the  point  of  starting  for  the 
war  to  meet  danger,  and  possibly  death,  in  the  defense  of 
Virginia,  she  had  said  little,  and  that  little  was  in  refer- 
ence rather  to  the  imprudence  of  the  course  he  had  taken 
than  to  what  she  regarded  in  her  own  mind  as  its  folly, 
and  indeed  its  criminality. 

She  had,  however,  promise  4  that  as  soon  as  Tony's 
letter  arrived  she  would,  if  it  vas  still  possible,  forward 
"Dinah  and  the  ohild  to  him,  supplying  her  with  money 
ior  the  journey,  and  giving  her  the  papers  freeing  her 
from  slave:. y  which  Vincent  had  duly  signed  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  justice.  When  the  letter  came,  however,  it  was 
already  too  late.  Fighting  was  on  the  point  of  com- 
anencing,  all  intercourse  across  the  border  was  stopped, 
the  trains  were  &*"  taken  up  for  the  conveyance  of  troops, 
and  even  a  mai?  would  have  had  great  difficulty  in  pass- 
ing northward;,  while  for  an  unprotected  negress  with  a 
baby  such  a  journey  would  have  been  impossible. 

Mrs.  "Wingfield  had  therefore  written  four  times  at  fort- 
nightly intervals  to  Tony,  saying  that  it  was  impossible 
to  send  Dinah  off  at  present,  but  that  she  should  be  dis- 
patched as  soon  as  the  troubles  were  over,  upon  receipt 
of  another  letter  from  him  saying  that  his  address  was 


118  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

unchanged,  or  giving  a  new  one.  These  letters  were 
duly  posted,  and  it  was  probable  that  one  or  other  of 
them  would  in  time  reach  Tony,  as  mails  were  sent  off  to 
Europe  whenever  an  opportunity  offered  for  them  to  be 
taken  by  a  steamer  running  the  blockade  from  a  South- 
ern port.  Dinah,  therefore,  still  remained  at  the 
Orangery.  She  was  well  and  happy,  for  her  life  there 
was  a  delightful  one  indeed  after  her  toil  and  hardship  at 
the  Jacksons';  and  although  she  was  anxious  to  join  her 
husband,  the  knowledge  that  he  was  well  and  safe  from 
all  pursuit,  and  that  sooner  or  later  she  would  join  him 
with  her  child,  was  sufficient  to  make  her  perfectly  con- 
tented. 

During  Vincent's  illness  she  had  been  his  most  constant 
attendant;  for  her  child  now  no  longer  required  her  care, 
and  passed  much  of  its  time  down  at  the  nursery,  where 
the  young  children  of  the  slaves  were  looked  after  by  two 
or  three  aged  negresses  past  active  work.  She  had  there- 
fore begged  Mrs.  Wingfield  to  be  allowed  to  take  her 
place  by  the  bedside  of  her  young  master,  and,  after  giv- 
ing her  a  trial,  Mrs.  Wingfield  found  her  so  quiet,  gentle, 
and  patient  that  she  installed  her  there,  and  was  able  to 
obtain  the  rest  she  needed,  with  a  feeling  of  confidence 
that  Vincent  would  be  well  attended  to  in  her  absence. 

When  Vincent  was  well  enough  to  be  about  again,  his 
sisters  were  surprised  at  the  change  that  had  taken  place 
in  him  since  he  had  started,  a  few  months  before  for  the 
war.  It  was  not  so  much  that  he  had  grown,  though  he 
had  done  so  considerably,  but  that  he  was  much  older  in 
jnanner  and  appearance.  He  had  been  doing  man's  work 
— work  requiring  vigilance,  activity,  and  courage,  and 
they  could  no  longer  treat  him  as  a  boy.  As  he  became 
stronger  he  took  to  riding  about  the  plantation;  but  not 
upon  Wildfire,  for  his  horse  was  still  with  the  troop, 
Colonel  Stuart  having  promised  to  see  that  the  animal 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  119 

was  well  caied  for,  and  that  no  one  should  ride  upon  it 
but  himself. 

"  I  hope  you  like  Jonas  Pearson  better  than  you  used 

to  do,  Vincent, "  Mrs.  Wingfield  said  a  day  or  two  before 
he  started  to  rejoin  his  troop. 

"I  can't  say  I  do,  mother,"  he  replied  shortly.  "The 
man  is  very  civil  to  me  now — too  civil,  in  fact;  but  I 
don't  like  him,  and  I  don't  believe  he  is  honest.  I  don't 
mean  that  he  would  cheat  you,  though  he  may  do  so  for 
anything  I  know;  but  he  pretends  to  be  a  violent  Seces- 
sionist, which  as  he  comes  from  Vermont  is  not  natural, 
and  I  imagine  he  would  sing  a  different  tune  if  the  blue- 
coats  ever  get  to  Eichmond.  Still  I  have  nothing  par- 
ticular to  say  against  him,  except  that  I  don't  like  him 
and  I  don't  trust  him.  So  long  as  everything  goes  on 
well  for  the  Confederacy  I  don't  suppose  it  matters,  but 
if  we  should  ever  get  the  worst  of  it  you  will  see  that 
fellow  will  be  mischievous. 

"However,  i  hear  that  he  has  obeyed  your  orders,  and 
that  there  has  been  no  flogging  on  the  estate  since  I  went 
away.  In  fact,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  he  does  not  keep  any- 
thing like  each  a  sharp  hand  over  the  slaves  as  he  used 
to  do;  and  in  some  of  the  fields  the  work  seems  to  be 
done  in  a  very  slovenly  way.  What  his  game  is  I  don't 
know;  but  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  he  has  some 
game  in  his  mind." 

"You  are  a  most  prejudiced  boy,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  said, 
laughing.  "First  of  all  the  man  is  too  strict,  and  you 
were  furious  about  it;  now  you  think  he's  too  lenient, 
and  you  at  once  suspect  he  has  what  you  call  a  game  of 
some  sort  or  other  on.     You  are  hard  to  please  indeed." 

Vincent  smiled.  "Well,  as  I  told  yon  once  before,  we 
shall  see.  I  hope  I  am  wrong,  and  that  Pearson  is  ail 
that  you  believe  him  to  be.  I  own  that  I  may  be  preju- 
diced against  him;  but  nothing  will  persuade  me  that  it 


120  WITH  LEE  IJST  VIRGINIA. 

was  not  from  him  that  Jackson  learned  that  Dinah  was 
here,  and  it  was  to  that  we  owe  the  visit  of  the  sheriff 
and  the  searching  the  plantation  for  Tony.  However, 
whatever  the  man  is  at  heart,  he  can,  as  far  as  I  see,  do 
you  no  injury  as  long  as  things  go  on  as  they  are,  and  I 
sincerely  trust  he  will  never  have  an  opportunity  of  doing 
so." 

During  the  winter  Vincent  had  made  the  acquaintance 
of  many  of  the  Southern  leaders.  The  town  was  the 
center  of  the  movement,  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy. 
It  was  against  it,  as  the  capital  of  the  Southern  States, 
that  the  efforts  of  the  Northerners  were  principally  di- 
rected, and  to  it  flocked  the  leading  men  from  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Although  every  Virginian  family  had 
some  of  its  members  at  the  front,  and  a  feeling  of  anxiety 
reigned  everywhere,  a  semblance  of  gayety  was  kept  up. 
The  theater  was  opened,  and  parties  and  balls  given,  in 
order  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  people  by  the  example 
of  those  of  higher  rank. 

These  balls  differed  widely  in  appearance  from  those  of 
eighteen  months  before.  The  gentlemen  were  almost  all 
in  uniform,  and  already  calicoes  and  other  cheap  fabrics 
were  worn  by  many  of  the  ladies,  as  foreign  dress  mate- 
rials could  no  longer  be  purchased.  Mrs.  Wingfield  made 
a  point  of  always  attending  with  her  daughters  at  these 
entertainments,  which  to  the  young  people  afforded  a 
cheerful  break  in  the  dullness  and  monotony  of  their 
usual  life;  for,  owing  to  the  absence  of  almost  all  the  young 
men  with  the  army,  there  had  been  a  long  cessation  of 
the  pleasant  interchange  of  visits,  impromptu  parties, 
and  social  gatherings  that  had  formed  a  feature  in  the 
life  in  Virginia. 

The  bails  would  have  been  but  dull  affairs  had  only  the 
residents  of  Richmond  been  present;  but  leave  was 
granted  as  much  as  possible  to  officers  stationed  with 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  121 

regiments  'within  a  railway  run  of  the  town,  and  as  these 
eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the  change  from  the  mo- 
notony of  camp  life,  the  girls  had  no  reason  to  complain 
of  want  of  partners.  Here  and  at  the  receptions  given 
by  President  Davis,  Vincent  met  all  the  leaders  of  the 
Confederacy,  civil  and  military.  Many  of  them  had  been 
personal  friends  of  the  Wingfields  before  the  Secession 
movement  began,  and  among  them  was  General  Magru- 
der,  who  commanded  the  troops  round  Eichmond. 

Early  in  the  winter  the  general  had  called  at  the 
Orangery.  "We  are  going  to  make  a  call  upon  the  pa- 
triotism of  the  planters  of  this  neighborhood,  Mrs.  Wing- 
field,"  he  said  during  lunch-time.  "You  see,  our  armies 
are  facing  those  of  the  Federals  opposite  Washington, 
and  can  offer  a  firm  front  to  any  foe  marching  down  from 
the  North;  but  unfortunately  they  have  the  command 
of  the  sea,  and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  their  embark- 
ing an  army  on  board  ship  and  landing  it  in  either  the 
James  or  the  York  Eivers,  and  in  that  case  they  might 
make  a  rush  upon  Eichmond  before  there  would  be  time 
to  bring  down  troops  to  our  aid.  I  am  therefore  propos- 
ing to  erect  a  chain  of  works  between  the  two  rivers,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  keep  even  a  large  army  at  bay  until  rein- 
forcements arrive;  but  to  do  this  a  large  number  of  hands 
will  be  required,  and  we  are  going  to  ask  the  proprietors 
of  plantations  to  place  as  many  negroes  as  they  can  spare 
at  our  disposal." 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  response  your  ques- 
tion will  meet  with,  general.  At  present  we  have  scarce 
enough  work  for  our  slaves  to  do.  I  intend  to  grow  no 
tobacco  next  year,  for  it  will  only  rot  in  the  warehouse, 
and  a  comparatively  small  number  of  hands  are  required 
to  raise  corn  crops.  I  have  about  a  hundred  and  seventy 
working  hands  on  the  Orangery,  and  shall  be  happy  to 
place  a  hundred  at  your  disposal  for  as  long  a  time  as  you 


122  WITH  LEE  W  VIRGINIA. 

may  require  them.  If  you  want  fifty  more  you  can  oi 
course  have  them.  Everything  else  must  at  present  give 
way  to  the  good  of  the  cause." 

"I  thank  you  much,  Mrs.  Wingfield,  for  your  offers, 
and  will  put  your  name  down  the  first  on  the  list  of  con- 
tributors." 

"You  seem  quite  to  have  recovered  now,"  he  said  to 
Vincent  a  fow  minutes  afterward. 

"Yes;  I  am  quite  ashamed  of  staying  here  so  long, 
general.  But  I  feel  some  pain  at  times;  and  as  there  is 
nothing  doing  at  the  front,  and  my  doctor  says  that  it  is 
of  importance  I  should  have  rest  as  long  as  possible,  I  have 
stayed  on.  Major  Ashley  has  promised  to  recall  me  as 
soon  as  there  is  a  prospect  of  active  work." 

"I  think  it  is  quite  likely  that  there  will  be  active 
work  here  as  soon  as  anywhere  else,"  the  general  said. 
"We  know  pretty  well  what  is  doing  at  Washington,  and 
though  nothing  has  been  decided  upon,  there  is  a  party 
in  favor  of  a  landing  in  force  here;  and  if  so,  we  shall 
have  hot  work.  What  do  you  say?  If  you  like  I  will 
get  you  a  commission  and  appoint  you  one  of  my  aids- 
de-camp.  Your  knowledge  of  the  country  will  make  you 
useful,  and  as  Ashley  has  specially  mentioned  your  name 
in  one  of  his  dispatches,  you  can  have  your  commission 
by  asking  for  it. 

"If  there  is  to  be  fighting  round  here,  it  will  be  of 
more  interest  to  you  defending  your  own  home  than  in 
taking  part  in  general  engagements  for  the  safety  of  the 
State.  It  will,  too,  enable  you  to  be  a  good  deal  at 
home;  and  although  so  far  the  slaves  have  behaved  ex- 
tremely well,  there  is  no  saying  exactly  what  may  happen 
if  the  Northerners  come  among  us.  You  can  rejoin  your 
own  corps  afterward,  you  know,  if  nothing  comes  of 
this." 

Vincent  was  at  first  inclined  to  decline  the  offer,  but 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  123 

his  mother  arid  sisters  were  so  pleased  at  having  him 
near  them  that  he  finally  accepted  with  thanks,  being 
principally  influenced  by  the  general's  last  argument, 
that  possibly  there  might  be  trouble  with  the  slaves  in 
the  event  of  a  landing  in  the  James  Peninsula  by  the 
Ts'ortherners.  A  few  days  later  there  came  an  official  in- 
timation that  he  had  received  a  commission  in  the  cavalry, 
and  had  at  General  Magruder's  request  been  appointed 
to  his  staff,  and  he  at  once  entered  upon  his  new  duties. 

The  fortress  of  Monroe,  at  the  entrance  of  Hampton 
Roads,  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Federals,  and  a  large 
Federal  fleet  was  assembled  here,  and  was  only  prevented 
from  sailing  up  the  James  River  by  the  Merrimac,  a 
steamer  which  the  Confederates  had  plated  with  railway 
iron.  They  had  also  constructed  batteries  upon  some 
high  bluffs  on  each  side  of  the  river.  In  a  short  time 
5,000  negroes  were  set  to  work  erecting  batteries  upon 
the  York  River  at  Yorktown  and  Gloucester  Point,  and 
upon  a  line  of  works  extending  from  Warwick  upon  the 
James  River  to  Ship  Point  on  the  York,  through  a  line 
of  wooded  and  swampy  country  intersected  by  streams 
emptying  themselves  into  one  or  other  of  the  rivers. 

This  line  was  some  thirty  miles  in  length,  and  would 
require  25,000  men  to  guard  it;  but  Magruder  hoped  that 
there  would  be  sufficient  warning  of  an  attack  to  enable 
reinforcements  to  arrive  in  time  to  raise  his  own  com- 
mand of  about  10,000  men  to  that  strength.  The  negroes 
worked  cheerfully,  for  they  received  a  certain  amount  of 
pay  from  the  State;  but  the  work  was  heavy  and  difficult, 
and  different  altogether  to  that  which  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  perform.  The  batteries  by  the  sides  of  the 
rivers  made  fair  progress,  but  the  advance  of  the  long 
line  of  works  across  the  peninsula  was  but  slow.  Vin- 
cent had,  upon  receiving  his  appointment,  written  at 
once  to  Major  Ashley,  sending  his  letter  by  Dan,  who  waa 


124  WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA. 

ordered  to  bring  back  Wildfire.  Vincent  stated  that  had 
he  consulted  his  personal  feeling  he  should  have  pre- 
ferred remaining  in  the  ranks  of  his  old  corps;  but  that 
as  the  fighting  might  be  close  to  his  home,  and  there  was 
no  saying  what  might  be  the  behavior  of  the  slave  popu- 
lation in  the  event  of  a  Northern  invasion,  he  had,  for 
the  sake  of  his  mother  and  sisters,  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment, but  as  soon  as  the  danger  was  over  he  hoped  to 
rejoin  the  corps  and  serve  under  his  former  commander. 

Dan,  on  his  return  with  Wildfire,  brought  a  letter  from 
the  major  saying  that  although  he  should  have  been  glad 
to  have  had  him  with  him,  he  quite  agreed  with  the  de- 
cision at  which  he  had,  under  the  circumstances,  arrived. 
Vincent  now  took  up  his  quarters  at  the  camp  formed  a 
short  distance  from  the  city,  and  much  of  his  time  was 
spent  in  riding  to  and  from  the  peninsula,  seeing  that 
the  works  were  being  carried  out  according  to  the  plan  of 
the  general,  and  reporting  upon  the  manner  in  which  the 
contractors  for  the  supply  of  food  to  the  negroes  at  work 
there  performed  their  duties.  Sometimes  he  was  away 
for  two  or  three  days  upon  this  work;  but  he  generally 
managed  once  or  twice  a  week  to  get  home  for  a  few 
hours. 

The  inhabitants  of  Eichmond  and  its  neighborhood 
were  naturally  greatly  interested  in  the  progress  of  the 
works  for  their  defense,  and  parties  were  often  organized 
to  ride  or  drive  to  Yorktown,  or  to  the  batteries  on  the- 
James  River,  to  watch  the  progress  made.  Upon  one 
occasion  Vincent  accompanied  his  mother  and  sisters, 
and  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  from  the  neighboring 
plantations,  to  Drury's  Bluff,  where  an  intrenched  posi- 
tion named  Fort  Darling  had  been  erected,  and  prepara- 
tions made  to  sink  vessels  across  the  river,  and  close  it 
against  the  advance  of  the  enemy's  fleet  should  any  mis- 
fortune happen  to  the  Merrimac. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  125 

Several  other  parties  had  been  made  up,  and  each 
brought  provisions  with  them.  General  Magruder  and 
some  of  his  officers  received  them  upon  their  arrival,  and 
conducted  them  over  the  works.  After  this  the  whole 
party  sat  down  to  a  picnic  meal  on  the  ground,  and  no 
stranger  could  have  guessed  that  the  merry  party  formed 
part  of  a  population  threatened  with  invasion  by  a  pow- 
erful foe.  There  were  speeches  and  toasts,  all  of  a  patri- 
otic character,  and  General  Magruder  raised  the  enthu- 
siasm to  the  highest  point  by  informing  them  that  in  a 
few  days — the  exact  day  was  a  secret,  but  it  would  be 
very  shortly — the  Merrimac,  or,  as  she  had  been  re- 
christened,  the  Virginia,  would  put  out  from  Norfolk 
Harbor,  and  see  what  she  could  do  to  clear  Hampton 
Roads  of  the  fleet  that  now  threatened  them.  As  they 
were  riding  back  to  Richmond  the  general  said  to  Vin- 
cent: 

"I  will  tell  you  a  little  more  than  I  told  the  others, 
Wingfield.  I  believe  the  Merrimac  will  go  out  the  day 
after  to-morrow.  I  wish  I  could  get  away  myself  to  see 
the  affair;  but,  unfortunately,  I  cannot  do  so.  How- 
ever, if  you  like  to  be  present,  I  will  give  you  three  days' 
leave,  as  you  have  been  working  very  hard  lately.  You 
can  start  early  to-morrow,  and  can  get  down  by  train  to 
Norfolk  in  the  evening.  I  should  advise  you  to  take 
your  horse  with  you,  and  then  you  can  ride  in  the  morn- 
ing to  some  spot  from  which  you  will  get  a  fair  view  of 
the  Roaas,  and  be  able  to  see  what  is  going  on.'" 

"L'jiank  you  very  much,  sir,"  Vincent  said.  "I  should 
like  it  immensely." 

The  next  day  Vincent  went  down  to  Norfolk.  Arriv- 
ing there,  he  found  that  although  there  was  a  general  ex- 
pectation that  the  Merrimac  would  shortly  go  out  to  try 
her  strength  with  the  enemy,  nothing  was  known  of  the 
fact  that  the  next  morning  had  been  fixed  for  the  en- 


126  WITH  LEE  IN  VIBGWIA. 

counter,  the  secret  being  kept  to  the  last  lest  some  spy 
or  adherent  of  the  North  might  take  the  news  to  the 
fleet.  After  putting  up  his  horse  Vincent  went  down  to 
the  navy  yard,  off  which  the  Merrimac  was  lying. 

This  ship  had  been  sunk  by  the  Federals  when  at  the 
commencement  of  hostilities  they  had  evacuated  Nor- 
folk. Having  been  raised  by  the  Confederates,  the  ship 
was  cut  down,  and  a  sort  of  roof  covered  with  iron  was 
built  over  it,  so  that  the  vessel  presented  the  appearance 
of  a  huge  sunken  house.  A  ram  was  fixed  to  her  bow, 
and  she  was  armed  with  ten  guns.  Her  steam-power  was 
very  insufficient  for  her  size,  and  she  could  only  move 
through  the  water  at  the  rate  of  five  knots  an  hour. 

"She  is  an  ugly-looking  thing/'  a  man  observed  to 
Vincent  as  he  gazed  at  the  ship. 

"Frightfully  ugly,"  Vincent  agreed.  "She  may  be  a 
formidable  machine  in  the  way  of  fighting,  but  one  can 
scarcely  call  her  a  ship." 

"She  is  a  floating-battery,  and  if  they  tried  their  best 
to  turn  out  the  ugliest  thing  that  ever  floated  they  could 
not  have  succeeded  better.  She  is  just  like  a  Noah's  ark 
sunk  down  to  the  eaves  of  her  roof." 

"Yes,  she  is  a  good  deal  like  that,"  Vincent  agreed. 
"The  very  look  of  her  ought  to  be  enough  to  frighten 
the  Federals,  even  if  she  did  nothing  else." 

"I  expect  it  will  not  be  long  before  she  gives  them  a 
taste  of  her  quality,"  the  man  said.  "She  has  got  her 
coal  and  ammunition  on  board,  and  there's  nothing  to 
prevent  her  going  out  this  evening  if  she  wants  to." 

"It  will  be  worth  seeing  when  she  does  go  out  to  fight 
the  Northerners,"  Vincent  said.  "It  will  be  a  new  ex- 
periment in  warfare,  and,  if  she  turns  out  a  success,  I 
suppose  all  the  navies  in  the  world  will  be  taking  to  cover 
themselves  up  with  iron." 

The  next  morning,  which  was  the  8th  of  March — a  date 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  127 

forever  memorable  in  naval  annals — smoke  was  seen 
pouring  out  from  the  funnels  of  the  Merrimac,  and  there 
were  signs  of  activity  on  board  the  Patrick  Henry,  of  six 
guns,  and  the  Jamestown,  Ealeigh,  Beaufort,  and 
Teazer,  little  craft  carrying  one  gun  each,  and  at  eleven 
o'clock  they  all  moved  down  the  inlet  on  which  Norfolk 
is  situated.  The  news  that  the  Merrimac  was  going  out 
to  attack  the  enemy  had  now  spread,  and  the  whole  pop- 
ulation of  Norfolk  turned  out  and  hastened  down  toward 
the  mouth  of  the  inlet  on  horseback,  in  vehicles,  or  on 
foot,  while  Vincent  rode  to  the  batteries  on  Sewell's 
Point,  nearly  facing  Fort  Monroe. 

He  left  his  horse  at  a  farmhouse  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  battery;  for  Wildfire  was  always  restless  under 
fire,  and  it  was  probable  that  the  batteries  would  take  a 
share  in  the  affair.  At  one  o'clock  some  of  the  small 
Federal  lookout  launches  were  seen  to  be  at  work  signal- 
ing, a  bustle  could  be  observed  prevailing  among  the 
large  ships  over  by  the  fortress,  and  it  was  evident  that 
the  Merrimac  was  visible  to  them  as  she  came  down  the 
inlet.  The  Cumberland  and  Congress  men-of-war  moved 
out  in  that  direction,  and  the  Minnesota  and  the  St. 
Lawrence,  which  were  at  anchor,  got  under  weigh,  as- 
sisted by  steam-tugs. 

The  Merrimac  and  the  fleet  of  little  gunboats  were 
now  visible  from  the  battery,  advancing  against  the  Cum- 
berland and  Congress.  The  former  opened  fire  upon  her 
at  a  distance  of  a  mile  with  her  heavy  pivot  guns,  but  the 
Merrimac,  without  replying,  continued  her  slow  and 
steady  course  toward  them.  She  first  approached  the 
Congress,  and  as  she  did  so  a  puff  of  smoke  burst  from 
the  forward  end  of  her  pent-house,  and  the  water  round 
the  Congress  was  churned  up  by  a  hail  of  grape-shot. 
As  they  passed  each  other  both  vessels  fired  a  broadside. 
The  officers  in  the  fort,  provided  with  glasses,  could  see 


128  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

the  effect  of  the  Merrimac's  fire  in  the  light  patches  that 
showed  on  the  side  of  the  Congress,  but  the  Merrimac 
appeared  entirely  uninjured.  She  now  approached  the 
Cumberland,  which  poured  several  broadsides  into  her, 
but  altogether  without  effect.  The  Merrimac,  without 
replying,  steamed  straight  on  and  struck  the  Cumberland 
with  great  force,  knocking  a  large  hole  in  her  side,  near 
the  water-line.  Then  backing  off  she  opened  fire  upon 
her. 

For  half  an  hour  the  crew  of  the  Cumberland  fought 
with  great  bravery.  The  ships  lay  about  three  hundred 
yards  apart,  and  every  shot  from  the  Merrimac  told  on 
the  wooden  vessel.  The  water  was  pouring  in  through 
the  breach.  The  shel]s  of  the  Merrimac  crushed  through 
her  side,  and  at  one  time  set  her  on  fire;  but  the  crew 
worked  their  guns  until  the  vessel  sank  beneath  their 
feet.  Some  men  succeeded  in  swimming  to  land,  which 
was  not  far  distant,  otners  were  saved  by  small  boats 
from  the  shore,  but  nearly  half  of  the  crew  of  four  hun- 
dred men  were  either  killed  in  action  or  drowned. 

The  Merrimac  now  turned  her  attention  to  the  Con- 
gress, which  was  left  to  fight  the  battle  alone,  as  the 
Minnesota  had  got  aground,  and  the  Eoanoke  and  St. 
Lawrence  could  not  approach  near  enough  to  render  them 
assistance  from  their  draught  of  water.  The  Merrimac 
poured  broadside  after  broadside  into  her,  until  the 
officer  in  command  and  many  of  the  crew  were  killed. 
The  lieutenant  who  succeeded  to  the  command,  seeing 
there  was  no  prospect  of  help,  and  that  resistance  was 
hopeless,  hauled  down  the  flag.  A  gunboat  was  sent 
alongside  with  orders  that  the  crew  should  leave  the 
Congress  and  come  on  board,  as  the  ship  was  to  be 
burned.  But  the  troops  and  artillery  lining  the  shore 
new  opened  fire  on  the  little  gunboat,  which  consequently 
hauled   off.     The   Merrimac,    after  firing   several   more 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  129 

shells  into  the  Congress,  moved  away  to  attack  the  Min- 
nesota, and  the  survivors  of  the  two  hundred  men  who 
composed  the  crew  of  the  Congress  were  conveyed  to 
shore  in  small  boats.  The  vessel  was  set  on  fire  either  by 
her  own  crew  or  the  shells  of  the  Merrimac,  and  by  mid- 
night blew  up. 

Owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the  water  the  Merrimac 
could  not  get  near  enough  to  the  Minnesota  to  use  her 
own  small  guns  to  advantage,  and  the  gunboat  was 
driven  off  by  the  heavy  ten-inch  gun  of  the  Federal 
frigate,  and  therefore  at  seven  o'clock  the  Merrimac  and 
her  consorts  returned  to  Norfolk.  The  greatest  delight 
was  felt  on  shore  at  the  success  of  the  engagement,  and 
on  riding  back  to  Norfolk  Vincent  learned  that  the  ram 
would  go  out  again  next  morning  to  engage  the  rest  of 
the  Federal  fleet. 

She  herself  had  suffered  somewhat  in  the  fight.  Her 
loss  in  men  was  only  two  killed  and  eight  wounded;  but 
two  of  her  guns  had  the  muzzles  shot  off,  the  armor  was 
damaged  in  some  places,  and  most  serious  of  all  she  had 
badly  twisted  her  ram  in  running  into  the  Cumberland. 
Still  it  appeared  that  she  was  more  than  a  match  for  the 
rest  of  the  Federal  fleet,  and  that  these  must  either  fly 
or  be  destroyed. 

As  the  general  had  given  him  three  days'  leave,  Vin- 
cent was  able  to  stay  to  see  the  close  of  the  affair,  and 
early  next  morning  again  rode  down  to  Sewell's  Point, 
as  the  Merrimac  was  to  start  at  daybreak.  At  six  o'clock 
the  ironclad  came  out  from  the  river  and  made  for  the 
Minnesota,  which  was  still  aground.  The  latter  was  seen 
to  run  up  a  signal,  and  the  spectators  saw  an  object 
which  they  had  not  before  perceived  coming  out  as  if  to 
meet  the  ram.  The  glasses  were  directed  toward  it,  and 
a  general  exclamation  of  surprise  was  heard. 

"What  is  the  thing?     It  looks  like  a  raft  with  two 


130  WITH  LEE  IH  VIRGINIA. 

round  turrets  upon  it,  and  a  funnel."  A  moment's  con- 
sideration, and  the  truth  burst  upon  them.  It  was  the 
ship  they  had  heard  of  as  building  at  New  York.,  and 
which  had  been  launched  six  weeks  before.  It  was  in- 
deed the  Monitor,  which  had  arrived  during  the  night, 
just  in  time  to  save  the  rest  of  the  Federal  fleet.  She 
was  the  first  regular  ironclad  ever  built.  She  was  a 
turret  ship,  carrying  two  very  heavy  guns,  and  showing 
only  between  two  and  three  feet  above  the  water. 

The  excitement  upon  both  shores  as  these  adversaries 
approached  each  other  was  intense.  They  moved  slowly, 
and  not  until  they  were  within  a  hundred  yards'  distance 
did  the  Monitor  open  fire,  the  Merrimac  replying  at 
once.  The  fire  for  a  time  was  heavy  and  rapid,  the  dis- 
tance between  the  combatants  varying  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  yards.  The  Monitor  had  by  far  the  greatest 
speed,  and  was  much  more  easily  turned  than  the  Con- 
federate ram,  and  her  guns  were  very  much  heavier,  and 
the  Merrimac  while  still  keeping  up  the  fight  made  to- 
ward the  moutli  of  the  river. 

Suddenly  she  turned  and  steamed  directly  at  the  Moni- 
tor, and  before  the  latter  could  get  out  of  her  way  struck 
her  on  the  side;  but  the  ram  was  bent  and  her  weak 
engines  were  insufficient  to  propel  her  with  the  necessary 
force.  Consequently  she  inflicted  no  damage  on  the 
Monitor,  and  the  action  continued,  the  turret-ship  direct- 
ing her  fire  at  the  iron  roof  of  the  ram,  while  the  latter 
pointed  her  guns  especially  at  the  turret  and  pilot-house 
of  the  Monitor.  At  length,  after  a  battle  which  had 
lasted  six  hours,  the  Monitor  withdrew,  one  of  the  plates 
of  her  pilot  house  being  seriously  damaged  and  her  com- 
mander injured  in  the  eyes. 

When  her  foe  drew  off  the  Merrimac  steamed  back  to 
Norfolk.  There  were  no  men  killed  in  either  battle,  and 
each    side   claimed   a  victory;    the   Federals   upon   the 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  131 

ground  that  they  had  driven  off  the  Merrimac,  the  Con- 
federates because  the  Monitor  had  retreated  from  the 
fight.  Each  vessel  however  held  the  strength  of  the 
other  in  respect,  the  Monitor  remaining  as  sentinel  over 
the  ships  and  transports  at  Fortress  Monroe,  while  the 
Merrimac  at  Norfolk  continued  to  guard  the  entrance 
into  the  James  River. 

As  soon  as  the  light  was  over  Vincent  "Wingfield, 
greatly  pleased  that  he  had  witnessed  so  strange  and  in- 
teresting a  combat,  rode  back  to  Norfolk,  and  the  same 
evening  reached  Eichmond,  where  his  description  of  the 
fight  was  received  with  ill©  greatest  interest  and  excite- 
ment. 


132  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

m'clellan's  advance. 

It  was  not  until  three  weeks  after  the  fight  between 
the  ironclads  that  the  great  army  under  General  McClel- 
lan  arrived  off  Fortress  Monroe,  the  greater  portion  of 
the  troops  coming  down  the  Potomac  in  steam  trans- 
ports. Vast  quantities  of  stores  had  been  accumulated 
in  and  around  the  fortress.  Guns  of  a  size  never  before 
used  in  war  were  lying  on  the  wharfs  in  readiness  to  be 
placed  in  batteries,  while  Hampton  Roads  were  crowded 
with  transports  and  store  vessels  watched  over  by  the 
Monitor  and  the  other  war  ships.  McClellan's  army  was 
a  large  one,  but  not  so  strong  a  force  as  he  had  intended 
to  have  taken  with  him,  and  as  soon  as  he  arrived  at 
Fortress  Monroe  he  learned  that  he  would  not  be  able  to 
expect  much  assistance  from  the  fleet.  The  Merrimac 
completely  closed  the  James  River;  and  were  the  moro 
powerful  vessels  of  the  fleet  to  move  up  the  York  River, 
she  would  be  able  to  sally  out  and  destroy  the  rest  of  the 
fleet  and  the  transports. 

As  it  was  most  important  to  clear  the  peninsula  be- 
tween the  two  rivers  before  Magruder  should  receive 
strong  reinforcements,  a  portion  of  the  troops  were  at 
once  landed,  and  on  the  4th  of  April  56,000  men  and  100 
guns  disembarked  and  started  on  their  march  against 
Yorktown.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Northern  army  at  Fortress  Monroe  reached  Richmond 
fresh  steps  were  taken  for    the   defense   of    the   city. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  133 

Magruder  soon  found  that  it  would  be  impossible  with 
the  force  at  his  command  to  hold  the  line  he  had  pro- 
posed, and  a  large  body  of  negroes  and  troops  were  set  to 
work  to  throw  up  defenses  between  Yorktown  and  a  point 
on  the  Warwick  Eiver  thirteen  and  a  half  miles  away. 

A  portion  of  this  line  was  covered  by  the  Warwick 
Creek,  which  he  dammed  up  to  make  it  unfordable,  and 
erected  batteries  to  guard  the  dams.  Across  the  inter- 
vening ground  a  weak  earthwork  with  trenches  was  con- 
structed, there  being  no  time  to  raise  stronger  works; 
but  Magruder  relied  chiefly  upon  the  swampy  and 
difficult  nature  of  the  country,  and  the  concealment 
afforded  by  the  forest,  which  rendered  it  difficult  for  the 
enemy  to  discover  the  weakness  of  the  defenders. 

He  posted  6,000  men  at  Yorktown  and  Gloucester 
Point,  and  the  remaining  5,000  troops  under  his  com- 
mand were  scattered  along  the  line  of  works  to  the  War- 
wick Eiver.  He  knew  that  if  McClellan  pushed  forward 
with  all  his  force  he  must  be  successful;  but  he  knew 
also  that  if  the  enemy  could  but  be  held  in  check  for  a 
few  days  assistance  would  reach  him  from  General 
Johnston's  army. 

Fortunately  for  the  Confederates,  the  weather,  which 
had  been  fine  and  clear  during  the  previous  week, 
changed  on  the  very  day  that  McClellan  started.  The 
rain  came  down  in  torrents,  and  the  roads  became  almost 
impassable.  The  columns  struggled  on  along  the  deep 
and  muddy  tracks  all  day,  and  bivouacked  for  the  night 
in  the  forests.  The  next  morning  they  resumed  their 
march,  and  on  reaching  the  first  line  of  intrencrmients 
formed  by  the  Confederates  found  them  deserted,  and  it 
was  not  until  they  approached  the  Warwick  Creek  that 
they  encountered  serious  opposition.  Had  they  pushed 
forward  at  once  they  would  have  unquestionably  captured 
Bichmond.     But  McClellan's  fault  was  over-caution,  and 


134  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

he  believed  himself  opposed  by  a  very  much  larger  force 
than  that  under  the  command  of  Magruder;  conse- 
quently, instead  of  making  an  attack  at  once  he  began 
regular  siege  operations  against  the  works  on  Warwick 
Creek  and  those  at  Yorktown. 

The  delay  saved  Richmond.  Every  day  reinforcements 
arrived,  and  by  the  tine  that  McClellan's  army,  over 
100,000  strong,  had  erected  their  batteries  and  got  their 
heavy  guns  into  position,  Magruder  had  been  reinforced 
by  some  10,000  men  under  General  Johnston,  who  now 
assumed  the  command,  while  other  divisions  were  hurry- 
ing up  from  Northern  and  Y/estern  Virginia.  Upon  the 
very  night  before  the  batteries  were  ready  to  open,  the 
Confederates  evacuated  their  positions  and  fell  back, 
carrying  with  them  all  their  guns  and  stores  to  the 
Chickahominy  River,  which  ran  almost  across  the  penin- 
sula at  a  distance  of  six  miles  only  from  Richmond. 

The  Confederates  crossed  and  broke  down  the  bridges, 
and  prepared  to  make  another  stand.  The  disappoint- 
ment of  the  Federals  was  great.  After  ten  days  of  inces- 
sant labor  and  hardship  they  had  only  gained  possession 
of  the  village  of  Yorktown  and  a  tract  of  low  swampy 
country.  The  divisions  in  front  pressed  forward  rapidly 
after  the  Confederates;  but  these  had  managed  their 
plan  so  well  that  all  were  safely  across  the  stream  before 
they  were  overtaken. 

The  dismay  in  Richmond  had  for  a  few  days  been 
great.  Many  people  left  the  town  for  the  interior,  tak- 
ing their  valuables  with  them,  and  all  was  prepared  for 
the  removal  of  the  state  papers  and  documents.  But  as 
the  Federals  went  on  with  their  fortifications,  and  the 
reinforcements  began  to  arrive,  confidence  was  restored, 
and  all  went  on  as  before. 

The  great  Federal  army  was  so  scattered  through  the 
forests,  and  the  discipline  of  some  of  the  divisions  was  so 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  135 

lax,  that  it  was  some  days  before  McClellan  had  them 
ranged  in  order  on  the  Chickahominy.  Another  week 
elapsed  before  he  was  in  a  position  to  undertake  fresh 
operations;  but  General  Johnston  had  now  four  divisions 
on  the  spot,  and  he  was  too  enterprising  a  general  to 
await  the  attack.  Consequently  he  crossed  the  Chicka- 
hominy, fell  upon  one  of  the  Federal  divisions  and 
almost  destroyed  it,  and  drove  back  the  whole  of  their 
left  wing.  The  next  morning  the  battle  was  renewed, 
and  lasted  for  five  hours. 

It  was  fortunate  indeed  for  the  Confederates  that  the 
right  wing  of  the  Northern  army  did  not,  while  the 
action  was  going  on,  cross  the  river  and  march  straight 
upon  Richmond;  but  communication  was  difficult  from 
one  part  of  the  army  to  another,  owing  to  the  thick 
forests  and  the  swampy  state  of  the  ground,  and  being 
without  orders  they  remained  inactive  all  day.  The  loss 
on  their  side  had  been  7,000  men,  while  the  Confed- 
erates had  lost  4,500;  and  General  Johnston  being  seri- 
ously wounded,  the  chief  command  was  given  to  General 
Lee,  by  far  the  ablest  soldier  the  war  produced.  Satis- 
fied with  the  success  they  had  gained,  the  Confederates 
fell  back  across  the  river  again. 

On  the  4th  of  June,  General  Stuart — for  he  had  now 
been  promoted — started  with  1,200  cavalry  and  two  guns, 
and  in  forty-eight  hours  made  one  of  the  most  adven- 
turous reconnoissances  ever  undertaken.  First  the  force 
rode  out  to  Hanover  Courthouse,  where  they  encountered 
and  defeated,  first,  a  small  body  of  cavalry,  and  after- 
ward a  whole  regiment.  Then,  after  destroying  the 
stores  there  they  rode  round  to  the  Pamunky,  burned 
two  vessels  and  a  large  quantity  of  stores,  captured  a 
train  of  forty  wagons,  and  burned  a  railway  bridge. 

Then  they  passed  right  round  the  Federal  rear, 
crossed  the  river,  and  re-entered  the  city  with  165  pris* 


136  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

oners  and  200  horses,  having  effected  the  destruction  of 
vast  quantities  of  stores,  besides  breaking  up  the  railways 
and  burning  bridges. 

Toward  the  end  of  June  McClellan  learned  that  Stone- 
wall Jackson,  having  struck  heavy  blows  at  the  two 
greatly  superior  armies  which  were  operating  against  him 
in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  had  succeeded  in  evad- 
ing them,  and  was  marching  toward  Eichmond. 

He  had  just  completed  several  bridges  across  the  river, 
and  was  about  to  move  forward  to  fight  a  grea'".  battle 
when  the  news  reached  him.  Believing  that  he  should 
"be  opposed  by  an  army  of  200,000  men,  although,  in  fact, 
the  Confederate  army,  after  Jackson  and  all  the  available 
reinforcements  came  up,  ^j~,a  still  somewhat  inferior  in 
strength  to  his  own,  he  determined  to  abandon  for  the 
present  the  attempt  upon  Richmond,  and  to  fall  back 
upon  the  James  Eiver. 

Here  his  ships  had  already  landed  stores  for  his  supply, 
for  the  river  was  now  open  as  far  as  the  Confederate  de- 
fenses at  Fort  Darling.  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  had  been  cap- 
tured by  the  10,000  men  who  formed  the  garrison  of 
Fortress  Monroe.  No  resistance  had  been  offered,  as  all 
the  Confederate  troops  had  been  concentrated  for  the 
defense  of  Eichmond.  When  Norfolk  was  captured  the 
Merrimac  steamed  out  to  make  her  way  out  of  the  river; 
but  the  water  was  low,  and  the  pilot  declared  that  she 
could  not  be  taken  up.  Consequently  she  was  set  on  fire 
and  burned  to  the  water's  edge,  and  thus  the  main 
obstacle  to  the  advance  of  the  Federal  fleet  was  removed. 
They  had  advanced  as  far  as  Fort  Darling  and  the 
ironclad  gunboats  had  engaged  the  batteries  there.  Their 
shot,  however,  did  little  damage  to  the  defenders  upon 
the  lofty  bluffs,  while  the  shot  from  the  batteries  so 
injured  the  gunboats  that  the  attempt  to  force  the  pas- 
sage was  abandoned.     While  falling  back  co  a  place  called 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  13? 

Harrison's  Landing  on  the  James  River,  the  Federals 
were  attacked  by  the  Confederates,  but  after  desperate 
fighting  on  both  sides,  lasting  for  five  days,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  drawing  off  from  the  Chickahominy  with  a 
loss  of  fifty  guns,  thousands  of  small  arms,  and  the  loss 
of  the  greater  part  of  their  stores. 

All  idea  of  a  further  advance  against  Richmond  was 
for  the  present  abandoned.  President  Lincoln  had 
always  been  opposed  to  the  plan,  and  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  army  was  moved  round  to  join  the  force 
under  General  Pope,  which  was  now  to  march  upon 
Richmond  from  the  north. 

From  the  commencemnet  of  the  Federal  advance  to 
the  time  when,  beaten  and  dispirited,  they  regained  the 
James  River,  Vincent  Wingfield  had  seen  little  of  his 
family.  The  Federal  lines  had  at  one  time  been  within 
a  mile  of  the  Orangery.  The  slaves  had  some  days 
before  been  all  sent  into  the  interior,  and  Mrs.  Wing- 
field  and  her  daughters  had  moved  into  Richmond,  where 
they  joined  in  the  work,  to  which  the  whole  of  the  ladies 
of  the  town  and  neighborhood  devoted  themselves,  of 
attending  to  the  wounded,  of  whom,  while  the  fighting 
was  going  on,  long  trains  arrived  every  day  at  the  city. 

Vincent  himself  had  taken  no  active  part  in  the  fight- 
ing. Magruder's  division  had  not  been  engaged  in  the 
first  attack  upon  McClellan's  force;  and  although  it  had 
taken  a  share  in  the  subsequent  severe  fighting,  Vincent 
had  been  occupied  in  carrying  messages  from  the  general 
to  the  leaders  of  the  other  divisions,  and  had  only  once 
or  twice  come  under  the  storm  of  fire  to  which  the  Con- 
federates were  exposed  as  they  plunged  through  the 
morasses  to  attack  the  enemy.  As  soon  as  it  was  certain 
that  the  attack  was  finally  abandoned,  and  that  Mc* 
Clellan's  troops  were  being  withdrawn  to  strengthen 
Pope's  army,  Vincent  resigned  his  appointment  as  aid« 


133  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

de-camp,  and  was  appointed  to  the  7th  Virginian  Cav- 
alry, stationed  at  Orange,  where  it  was  facing  the  Federal 
cavalry.  Major  Ashley  had  fallen  while  protecting  the 
passage  of  Jackson's  division  when  hard  pressed  by  one 
of  the  Federal  armies  in  Western  Virginia. 

No  action  in  the  Avar  had  been  more  brilliant  than  the 
manner  in  which  Stonewall  Jackson  had  baffled  the  two 
armies — each  greatly  superior  in  force  to  his  own — that 
had  been  specially  appointed  to  destroy  him  if  possible, 
or  at  any  rate  to  prevent  his  withdrawing  from  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  and  marching  to  aid  in  the  defense 
of  the  Confederate  capital.  His  troops  had  marched 
almost  day  and  night,  without  food,  and  depending 
entirely  upon  such  supplies  as  they  could  obtain  from 
the  scattered  farmhouses  they  passed. 

Although  Kichmond  was  for  the  present  safe,  the 
prospect  of  the  Confederates  was  by  no  means  bright. 
New  Orleans  had  been  captured;  the  blockade  of  the 
other  ports  was  now  so  strict  that  it  was  difficult  in  the 
extreme  for  a  vessel  to  make  her  way  in  or  out;  and  the 
Northerners  had  placed  flotillas  of  gunboats  on  the 
rivers,  and  by  the  aid  of  these  were  gradually  making 
their  way  into  the  heart  of  several  of  the  States. 

"Are  you  thinking  of  going  out  to  the  Orangery  again 
soon,  mother?"  Vincent  asked  on  the  evening  before 
setting  out  on  the  march  north. 

'"I  think  not,  Vincent.  There  is  so  much  to  do  in  the 
hospitals  here  that  I  cannot  leave.  I  should  be  ashamed 
to  be  living  in  luxury  at  the  Orangery  with  the  girls 
while  other  women  are  giving  up  their  whole  time  nurs- 
ing the  wounded.  Besides,  although  I  do  not  anticipate 
that  after  the  way  they  have  been  hurled  back  the  North- 
erners will  try  again  for  some  time,  now  they  are  in  pos- 
session of  Harrison's  Landing  they  can  at  any  moment 
advance.     Besides,  it  is  not  pleasant  being  obliged  to 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  139 

turn  out  of  one's  house  and  leave  everything  to  their 
mercy.  I  wrote  yesterday  to  Pearson  to  bring  the  slaves 
back  at  once  and  take  up  the  work,  and  I  shall  go  over 
occasionally  to  see  that  everything  is  in  order;  but  at  any 
rate  for  a  time  we  will  stop  here." 

"I  think  that  is  best,  mother.  Certainly  I  should  feel 
more  comfortable  knowing  that  you  are  all  at  Kichmond 
than  alone  out  there." 

"We  should  be  no  worse  off  than  thousands  of  ladies  all 
over  the  State,  Vincent.  There  are  whole  districts  where 
every  white  capable  of  using  a  gun  has  gone  to  the  war, 
leaving  nothing  but  women  and  slaves  behind,  and  we 
have  not  heard  of  a  single  case  in  which  there  has  been 
trouble." 

"Certainly  there  is  no  chance  of  trouble  with  your 
slaves,  mother;  but  in  some  of  the  other  plantations  it 
may  not  be  so.  At  any  rate  the  quiet  conduct  of  the 
slaves  everywhere  is  the  very  best  answer  that  could  be 
given  to  the  accusations  that  have  been  made  as  to  their 
cruel  treatment.  At  present  the  whole  of  the  property 
of  the  slave-owners  throughout  the  Southern  States  is  at 
their  mercy,  and  they  might  burn,  kill,  and  destroy;  and 
yet  in  no  single  instance  have  they  risen  against  what  are 
called  their  oppressors,  even  when  the  Federals  have  been 
close  at  hand. 

"Please  keep  your  eye  on  Dinah,  mother.  I  distrust 
that  fellow  Jackson  so  thoroughly  that  I  believe  him 
capable  of  having  her  carried  off  and  smuggled  away 
somewhere  down  south,  and  sold  there  if  he  saw  a 
chance.  I  wish,  instead  of  sending  her  to  the  Orangey, 
you  would  keep  her  as  one  of  your  servants  here." 

"I  will  if  you  wish  it,  Vincent;  but  I  cannot  believe 
for  a  moment  that  this  Jackson  or  any  one  else  would 
venture  to  meddle  with  any  of  my  slaves." 

"Perhaps  not,  mother;  but  it  is  best  to  be  on  the  safe 


140  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

side.  Anyhow,  I  shall  be  glad  to  know  that  she  is  with 
you.  Young  Jackson  will  be  away,  for  I  know  he  is  in 
one  of  Stuart's  troops  of  horse,  though  I  have  never  hap- 
pened to  run  against  him  since  the  war  began." 

The  firing  had  hardly  ceased  before  Harrison's  Land- 
ings when  General  Jackson,  with  a  force  of  about  15,000 
men,  composed  of  his  own  division,  now  commanded  by 
General  Winder,  General  Ewell's  division,  and  a  por- 
tion of  that  of  General  Hill,  started  for  the  Eapidan  to 
check  General  Pope,  who,  plundering  and  wasting  the 
country  as  he  advanced,  was  marching  south,  his  object 
being  to  reach  Gordonsville,  where  he  would  cut  the  line 
of  railway  connecting  Eichmond  with  Western  Virginia. 
Vincent  was  glad  that  the  regiment  to  which  he  had  been 
appointed  would  be  under  Jackson's  command,  and  that 
he  would  be  campaigning  again  with  his  old  division, 
which  consisted  largely  of  Virginian  troops  and  contained 
bo  many  of  his  old  friends. 

With  Jackson,  too,  he  was  certain  to  be  engaged  in 
stirring  service,  for  that  general  ever  kept  his  troops 
upon  the  march,  striking  blows  where  least  expected,  and 
traversing  such  an  extent  of  country  by  rapid  marches 
that  he  and  his  division  seemed  to  the  enemy  to  be  almos* 
ubiquitous. 

It  was  but  a  few  hours  after  he  received  his  appoint- 
ment that  Vincent  took  train  from  Eichmond  to  Gor- 
donsville, Dan  being  in  the  horse-box  with  Wildfire  in 
the  rear  of  the  train.  His  regiment  was  encamped  a  mile 
or  two  away,  and  be  at  once  rode  on  and  reported  himself 
to  Colonel  Jones,  wtio  commanded  it. 

"I  am  glad  to  have  you  with  me,  sir,"  the  colonel  said. 
"I  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  your  father,  and  am  an 
old  friend  of  your  mother's  family.  As  you  were  in 
Ashley's  horse  and  have  been  serving  on  Magruder's 
stafi,  you  are  well  up  in  your  duties;  and  it  is  a  comfort 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIPMINIA.  141 

to  me  that  the  vacancy  has  been  filled  up  by  one  who 
knows  his  work  instead  of  a  raw  hand.  We  have  had  a 
brush  or  two  already  with  the  enemy;  but  at  present  we 
are  watching  each  other,  waiting  on  both  sides  till  the 
generals  have  got  their  infantry  to  the  front  in  readiness 
for  an  advance.  Jackson  is  waiting  for  Hill's  division  to 
come  up,  and  I  believe  Pope  is  expecting  great  reinforce- 
ments from  McClellan." 

A  few  days  later  Colonel  Jones  was  ordered  to  take 
charge  of  the  pickets  posted  on  the  Eapidan,  but  before 
reaching  Orange  a  gentleman  rode  up  at  full  speed  and 
informed  them  that  the  enemy  were  in  possession  of  that 
town.  Colonel  Jones  divided  his  regiment  into  two  parts, 
and  with  one  charged  the  Federal  cavalry  in  the  main 
street  of  Orange,  while  the  other  portion  of  the  regiment, 
under  Major  Marshall,  attacked  them  on  the  flank. 
After  a  sharp  fight  the  enemy  were  driven  from  the 
place;  but  they  brought  up  large  reinforcements,  and, 
pouring  in  a  heavy  fire,  attacked  the  town  on  both  sides, 
and  the  Confederates  had  to  fall  back.  But  they  made 
another  stand  a  little  way  out  of  the  town,  and  drove 
back  the  Federal  cavalry  who  were  pressing  them. 

Although  the  fight  had  been  but  a  short  one  the  losses 
in  the  cavalry  ranks  had  been  serious.  Colonel  Jones, 
while  charging  at  the  head  of  his  men,  had  received  a 
saber-wound,  and  Major  Marshall  was  taken  prisoner. 

Five  days  later,  on  the  7th  of  August,  Jackson  received 
certain  intelligence  that  General  Burnside,  with  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  McClellan's  force,  had  embarked, 
and  was  on  the  way  to  join  Pope.  He  determined  to 
strike  a  blow  at  once,  and  marched  with  his  entire  force 
from  Gordonsville  for  Barnett  Ford  on  the  Eapidan. 

At  daybreak  next  morning  the  cavalry  crossed  the  river 
and  attacked  and  routed  a  body  of  Federal  cavalry  on  the 
road  to  Culpepper  Courthouse.     On  the  following  day 


142  WITH  LEE  W  VIRGINIA. 

Jackson  came  up  with  his  infantry  to  a  point  about  eight 
miles  from  Culpepper,  where  Pope's  army,  32,000  strong, 
were  stationed  upon  the  crest  of  a  hill.  General  Ewell's 
division,  which  was  the  only  one  then  up,  at  once  ad- 
vanced, and  after  a  severe  artillery  fight,  gained  a  point 
on  a  hill  where  his  guns  could  command  the  enemy's 
position. 

Jackson's  division  now  came  up,  and  as  it  was  moving 
into  position  General  Winder  was  killed  by  a  shell.  For 
some  hours  Jackson  did  not  attempt  to  advance,  as  Kill's 
division  had  not  come  up.  Encouraged  by  this  delay, 
the  enemy  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  took  the  of- 
fensive and  advanced  through  some  cornfields  lying  be- 
tween the  two  armies  and  attacked  Ewell's  division  on 
the  Confederate  right;  while  shortly  afterward  they  fell 
with  overwhelming  strength  on  Jackson's  left,  and,  at- 
tacking it  in  front,  flank,  and  rear,  drove  it  back,  and 
pressed  upon  it  with  such  force  that  the  day  appeared 
lost. 

At  this  moment  Jackson  himself  rode  down  among  the 
confused  and  wavering  troops,  and  by  his  voice  and  ex- 
ample rallied  them.  At  the  same  moment  the  old  Stone- 
wall Brigade  came  up  at  a  run  and  poured  their  fire  into 
the  advancing  enemy.  Jackson  led  the  troops  he  had 
rallied  forward.  The  Stonewall  Brigade  fell  upon  the 
enemy's  Hank  and  drove  them  back  with  terrible  slaugh- 
ter. Other  brigades  came  up,  and  there  was  a  general 
charge  along  the  whole  Confederate  line,  and  the  Federals 
were  driven  back  a  mile  beyond  the  position  they  had  oc- 
cupied at  the  commencement  of  the  fight  to  the  shelter 
of  some  thick  woods.  Four  hundred  prisoners  were 
taken  and  over  5,000  small-arms. 

The  battle  was  known  as  Cedar  Kun,  and  it  completely 
checked  Pope's  advance  upon  Richmond.  The  troops 
were  too  much  exhausted  to  follow  up  their  victory,  but 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  143 

Jackson  urged  them  to  press  forward.  They  moved  a 
mile  and  a  half  in  advance,  and  then  found  themselves  so 
strongly  opposed  that  Jackson,  believing  that  the  enemy 
must  have  received  reinforcements,  halted  his  men. 
Colonel  Jones  was  sent  forward  to  reconnoiter,  and  dis- 
covered that  a  large  force  had  joined  the  enemy. 

For  two  days  Jackson  remained  on  the  field  he  had 
■won;  his  troops  had  been  busy  in  burying  the  dead,  in 
collecting  the  wounded  and  sending  them  to  the  rear, 
and  in  gathering  the  arms  thrown  away  by  the  enemy  in 
their  flight.  Being  assured  that  the  enemy  were  now  too 
strong  to  be  attacked  by  the  force  under  his  command, 
Jackson  fell  back  to  Orange  Courthouse.  There  was  now 
a  few  days'  delay,  while  masses  of  troops  were  on  both 
sides  moving  toward  the  new  field  of  action.  McOlellan 
marched  his  troops  across  the  James  Peninsula  from  Har- 
rison's Landing  to  Yorktown,  and  there  the  greater  por- 
tion were  embarked  in  transports  and  taken  up  the  Eap- 
pahannock  to  Aquia  Creek,  landed  there,  and  marched 
to  Fredericksburg. 

Lee,  instead  of  attacking  McClellan  on  his  march 
across  the  peninsula,  determined  to  take  his  army  north 
at  once  to  join  Jackson  and  attack  Pope  before  he  was 
joined  by  McClellan's  army.  But  Pope,  although  already 
largely  reinforced,  retired  hastily  and  took  up  a  new  po- 
sition so  strongly  fortified  that  he  could  not  be  attacked. 
General  Stuart  had  come  up  with  Lee,  and  was  in  com- 
mand of  all  the  cavalry. 

"We  shall  see  some  work  now,''  was  the  remark  round 
the  fires  of  the  7th  Virginian  Cavalry.  Hitherto,  al- 
though they  had  been  several  times  engaged  with  the 
Federals,  they  had  been  forced  to  remain  for  the  most 
part  inactive  owing  to  the  vast  superiority  in  force  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry;  but  now  that  Stuart  had  come  up  they 
felt  certain  that,  whatever  the  disparity  of  numbers,  there 
would  soon  be  some  dashing  work  to  be  done. 


144  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Except  when  upon  actual  duty  the  strict  lines  of  mili- 
tary discipline  were  much  relaxed  among  the  cavalry,  the 
troopers  being  almost  all  the  sons  of  farmers  and  planters 
and  of  equal  social  rank  with  their  officers,  many  of  whom 
were  their  personal  friends  or  relatives.  Several  of  Vin- 
cent's schoolfellows  were  in  the  ranks,  two  or  three  of 
them  were  fellow  officers,  and  these  often  gathered  to- 
gether round  a  campfire  and  chatted  over  old  school 
days  and  mutual  friends. 

Many  of  these  had  already  fallen,  for  the  Virginian 
regiments  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  brigade  had  been  ter- 
ribly thinned;  but  the  loss  of  so  many  friends  and  the 
knowledge  that  their  own  turn  might  come  next  did  not 
suffice  to  lessen  the  high  spirits  of  the  young  fellows. 
The  hard  work,  the  rough  life,  the  exposure  and  hard- 
ship, had  braced  and  invigorated  them  all,  and  they  were 
attaining  a  far  more  vigorous  manhood  than  they  would 
ever  have  possessed  had  they  grown  up  in  the  somewhat 
sluggish  and  enervating  life  led  by  young  planters. 

Many  of  these  young  men  had,  until  the  campaign 
began,  never  done  half  an  hour's  hard  work  in  their  lives. 
They  had  been  waited  upon  by  slaves,  and  their  only  ex- 
ercise had  been  riding.  For  months  now  they  had  almost 
lived  in  the  saddle,  had  slept  in  the  open  air,  and  had 
thought  themselves  lucky  if  they  could  obtain  a  sufficient 
meal  of  the  roughest  food  to  satisfy  their  hunger  once  a 
day.  In  this  respect,  however,  the  cavalry  were  better 
off  than  their  comrades  of  the  infantry,  for  scouting  as 
they  did  in  small  parties  over  a  wide  extent  of  country, 
they  were  sure  of  a  meal  and  a  hearty  welcome  whenever 
they  could  spare  time  to  stop  for  half  an  hour  at  the 
house  of  a  farmer. 

"It's  a  glorious  life,  Wingfield!  When  we  chatted 
over  the  future  at  school  we  never  dreamed  of  such  a  life 
as  this,  though  some  of  us  did  talk  of  entering  the  armyj 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  145 

but  even  then  an  occasional  skirmish  with  Indians  was 
the  limit  of  our  ideas." 

"Yes,  it  is  a  glorious  life!"  Vincent  agreed.  "I  can- 
not imagine  anything  more  exciting.  Of  course,  there 
is  the  risk  of  being  shot,  but  somehow  one  never  seems  to 
think  of  that.  There  is  always  something  to  do  and  to 
think  about,  from  the  time  one  starts  on  a  scout  at  day- 
break to  that  when  one  lies  down  at  night  one's  senses 
are  on  the  stretch.  Besides,  we  are  fighting  in  defense 
of  our  country  and  not  merely  as  a  profession,  though  I 
don't  suppose,  after  all,  that  makes  much  difference  when 
one  is  once  in  for  it.  As  far  as  I  have  read  all  soldiers 
enjoy  campaigning,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  make  any  dif- 
ference to  them  who  are  the  foe  or  what  they  are  fighting 
about.  But  I  should  like  to  feel  a  little  more  sure  that 
we  shall  win  in  the  long  run." 

There  was  a  chorus  of  indignant  protests  against  there 
being  any  possible  doubts  as  to  the  issue. 

"Why,  we  have  thrashed  them  every  time  we  have  met 
them,  Wingfield." 

"That  is  all  very  well,"  Vincent  said.  "Here  in  Vir- 
ginia we  have  held  our  own,  and  more  than  held  it.  We 
have  beat  back  Scott  and  McClellan,  and  now  we  have 
thrashed  Pope;  and  Stonewall  Jackson  has  won  a  dozen 
battles  in  Western  Virginia.  But  you  must  remember 
that  in  other  parts  they  are  gradually  closing  in;  all  the 
ports  not  already  taken  are  closely  blockaded;  they  are 
pushing  all  along  the  lines  of  the  great  rivers;  and  worst 
of  all,  they  can  fill  up  their  vacancies  with  Irishmen  and 
Germans,  and  as  fast  as  one  army  disappears  another 
takes  its  place.  I  believe  we  shall  beat  them  again  and 
again,  and  shall  prove,  as  we  have  proved  before,  that 
one  Southerner  fighting  for  home  and  liberty  is  more 
than  a  match  for  two  hired  Germans  or  Irishmen,  even 
With  a  good  large  sprinkling  of  Yankees  among  them. 


146  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

But  in  the  long  run  I  am  not  sure  that  we  shall  win,  for 
they  can  go  on  putting  big  armies  into  the  field,  while 
some  day  we  must  get  used  up. 

"Of  course  it  is  possible  that  we  may  some  day  capture 
"Washington,  and  that  the  North  may  get  weary  of  the 
tremendous  drain  of  money  and  men  caused  by  their  at- 
tempt to  conquer  us.  I  hope  it  may  be  so,  for  I  should 
like  to  think  that  we  should  win  in  the  long  run.  I 
never  feel  any  doubt  about  our  winning  a  battle  when  we 
begin.  My  only  fear  is  that  we  may  get  used  up  before 
the  North  are  tired  of  it." 

"I  did  not  expect  to  hear  you  talk  so,  Wingfield,  for 
you  always  seem  to  be  in  capital  spirits." 

"I  am  in  capital  spirits,"  Vincent  replied,  "and  ready 
to  fight  again  and  again,  and  always  confident  we  shall 
lick  the  Yankees;  the  fact  that  I  have  a  doubt  whether 
in  the  long  run  we  shall  outlast  them  does  not  interfere 
in  the  slightest  degree  with  my  comfort  at  present.  I 
am  very  sorry  though  that  this  fellow  Pope  is  carrying  on 
the  war  so  brutally  instead  of  in  the  manner  in  which 
General  McClellan  and  the  other  commanders  have 
waged  it.  His  proclamation  that  the  army  must  subsist 
upon  the  country  it  passes  through  gives  a  direct  invita- 
tion to  the  soldiers  to  pillage,  and  his  order  that  all 
farmers  who  refuse  to  take  the  oath  to  the  Union  are  to 
be  driven  from  their  homes  and  sent  down  south  means 
ruin  to  all  the  peaceful  inhabitants,  for  there  is  scarcely 
a  man  in  this  part  of  Virginia  who  is  not  heartily  with 
us." 

"I  hear,"  one  of  the  other  officers  said,  "that  a  pris- 
oner who  was  captured  this  morning  says  that  Pope  al- 
ready sees  that  he  has  made  a  mistake,  and  that  he  yes- 
terday issued  a  fresh  order  saying  that  the  proclamation 
was  not  meant  to  authorize  pillage.  He  finds  that  the 
inhabitants  ^ho   before,   whatever  their  private   senti- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  147 

merits  were,  maintained  a  sort  of  neutrality,  are  now 
hostile,  that  they  drive  ore  their  cattle  into  the  woods, 
and  even  set  fire  to  their  stacks,  to  prevent  anything 
from  being  carried  off  by  the  Yanks;  and  his  troops  find 
the  roads  broken  up  and  bridges  destroyed  and  all  sorts  of 
difficulties  thrown  in  their  way." 

"It  does  not  always  pay — even  in  war — to  be  brutal.  I 
am  glad  to  see  he  has  found  out  his  mistake  so  soon," 
another  officer  said.  "McClellan  waged  war  like  a  gen- 
tleman; and  if  blackguards  are  to  be  allowed  to  carry  fire 
and  sword  through  the  land  they  will  soon  find  it  is  a 
game  that  two  can  play  at,  and  matters  will  become  hor- 
ribly embittered." 

"We  shall  never  do  that,"  Vincent  said.  "Our  gen- 
erals are  all  gentlemen,  and  Lee  and  Jackson  and  many 
others  are  true  Christians  as  well  as  true  soldiers,  and  I 
am  sure  they  will  never  countenance  that  on  our  side 
whatever  the  Northerners  may  do.  We  are  ready  to  fight 
the  hordes  of  Yankees  and  Germans  and  Irishmen  as 
often  as  they  advance  against  us,  but  I  am  sure  that  none 
of  us  would  fire  a  homestead  or  ill-treat  defenseless  men 
and  women.  It  is  a  scandal  that  such  brutalities  are 
committed  by  the  ruffians  who  call  themselves  Southern- 
ers. The  guerrillas  in  Missouri  and  Tennessee  are  equally 
bad  whether  on  our  side  or  the  other,  and  if  I  were  the 
president  I  would  send  down  a  couple  of  regiments,  and 
hunt  down  the  fellows  who  bring  dishonor  on  our  cause. 
If  the  South  cannot  free  herself  without  the  aid  of  ruf- 
fians of  this  kind  she  had  better  lay  down  her  arms  at 
once." 

"Bravo,  Wingfield!  Spoken  like  a  knight  of  chivalry!" 
one  of  the  others  laughed.  "But  many  of  these  bands 
have  done  good  nevertheless.  They  have  kept  the  enemy 
busy  there,  and  occupied  the  attention  of  a  very  large 
force  who  might  otherwise  have  been  in  the  woods  yon- 


148  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

der  with  Pope.  I  agree  with  you,  it  would  be  better  if 
the  whole  thing  were  fought  out  with  large  armies,  but 
there  is  a  good  deal  to  be  said  for  these  bands  you  are  so 
severe  upon.  They  are  composed  of  men  who  have  been 
made  desperate  by  seeing  their  farms  harried  and  their 
buildings  burned  by  the  enemy.  They  have  been  de- 
nounced as  traitors  by  their  neighbors  on  the  other  side, 
and  if  they  retaliate  I  don't  know  that  they  are  to  be  al- 
together blamed.  I  know  that  if  my  place  at  home  were 
burned  down  and  my  people  insulted  and  ill-treated  I 
should  be  inclined  to  set  off  to  avenge  it." 

"So  would  I,"  Vincent  agreed,  "but  it  should  be  upon 
those  who  did  the  wrong,  not  upon  innocent  people." 

"That  is  all  very  well,  but  if  the  other  side  destroy 
your  people's  farms,  it  is  only  by  showing  them  that  two 
can  play  at  the  game  that  you  can  make  them  observe 
the  laws  of  war.  I  grant  it  would  be  very  much  better 
that  no  such  thing  should  take  place;  but  if  the  North- 
erners begin  this  sort  of  work  they  may  be  sure  that  there 
will  be  retaliation.  Anyhow,  I  am  glad  that  I  am  an 
officer  in  the  7th  Virginians  and  not  a  guerrilla  leader  in 
Missouri.  Well,  all  this  talking  is  dry  work.  Has  no 
one  got  a  full  canteen?" 

"I  have,"  Vincent  said.  "Dan  managed  to  buy  a  gal- 
lon of  rum  at  a  farmhouse  yesterday.  I  think  the  farmer 
was  afraid  that  the  enemy  might  be  paying  him  a  visit 
before  many  days,  and  thought  it  best  to  get  rid  of  his 
spirits.  Anyhow,  Dan  got  the  keg  at  ordinary  city 
prices,  as  well  as  that  couple  of  fine  turkeys  he  is  just 
bringing  along  for  our  supper.  So  you  had  better  each 
get  your  ration  of  bread  and  fall  to." 

There  was  a  cheer  as  Dan  placed  the  turkeys  down  in 
the  center  of  the  group,  and  soon  the  whole  party,  using 
their  bread  as  plates,  fell  to  upon  them,  and  afterward 
joined  in  many  a  merry  song,  while  Dan  handed  round 
the  jar  of  spirits. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  J.4Q 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A    PRISONER. 

The  party  round  the  fire  were  just  about  to  disperse 
when  the  captain  of  Vincent's  troop  approached.  He 
took  the  hora  of  spirits  and  water  that  Vincent  held  up 
to  him  and  tossed  it  off. 

"That  is  a  stirrup-cup,  Wingfield." 

"What!  are  we  for  duty,  captain?"  Vincent  asked  as 
he  rose  to  his  feet. 

"Yes;  our  troop  and  Harper's  are  to  muster.  Get  the 
men  together  quietly.  I  think  it  is  a  serious  business; 
each  of  the  regiments  furnish  other  troops,  and  I  believe 
Stuart  himself  takes  the  command." 

"That  sounds  like  work,  indeed,"  Vincent  said.  "I 
will  get  the  troop  together,  sir." 

"There  are  to  be  no  trumpet  calls,  Wingfield;  we  are 
to  get  off  as  quietly  as  possible." 

Most  of  the  men  were  already  fast  asleep,  but  as  soon 
as  they  learned  that  there  was  a  prospect  of  active  work 
all  were  full  of  life  and  animation.  The  girths  of  the 
saddles  were  tightened,  swords  buckled  on,  and  revolvers 
carefully  examined  before  being  placed  in  the  holsters. 
Many  of  the  men  carried  repeating  rifles,  and  the  maga- 
zines were  filled  before  these  were  slung  across  the  riders' 
shoulders. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  three  troops  were  mounted  and 
in  readiness  for  a  start,  and  almost  directly  afterward 
Colonel  Jones  himself  rode  up  and  took  the  command. 


150  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 

A  thrill  of  satisfaction  ran  through  the  men  as  he  did  so, 
for  it  was  certain  that  he  would  not  himself  be  going  in 
command  of  the  detachment  unless  the  occasion  was  an 
important  one.     For  a  few  minutes  no  move  was  made. 

'"'I  suppose  the  others  are  going  to  join  us  here/'  Vin- 
cent said  to  the  officer  next  him. 

"I  suppose  so/'  he  replied.  "We  lie  in  the  middle  of 
the  cavalry  brigade  with  two  regiments  each  side  of  us, 
so  it  is  likely  enough  this  is  the  gathering  place.  Yes,  I 
can  hear  the  tramping  of  horses." 

"And  I  felt  a  spot  of  rain,"  Vincent  said.  "It  has 
been  lightning  for  some  time.  I  fear  we  are  in  for  a  wet 
ride." 

The  contingent  from  the  other  regiments  soon  arrived, 
and  just  as  the  last  came  up  General  Stuart  himself  ap- 
peared and  took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  party,  now 
some  five  hundred  strong.  Short  as  the  time  had  been 
since  Vincent  felt  the  first  drop,  the  rain  was  now  com- 
ing down  in  torrents.  One  by  one  the  bright  flames  of 
the  fires  died  down,  and  the  darkness  became  so  intense 
that  Vincent  could  scarcely  see  the  officer  on  his  right 
hand. 

"I  hope  the  man  who  rode  up  with  the  general,  aud  is 
no  doubt  to  be  our  guide,  knows  the  country  well.  It  is 
no  joke  finding  our  way  through  a  forest  on  such  a  night 
as  this." 

"I  believe  Stuart's  got  eyes  like  a  cat,"  the  officer  said. 
"Sometimes  on  a  dark  night  he  has  come  galloping  up  to 
a  post  where  I  was  in  command,  when  one  could  scarcely 
see  one's  hand  before  one.  It  never  seems  to  make  any 
difference  to  him,  day  or  night  he  rides  about  at  a  gallop. " 

"He  trusts  his  horse,"  Vincent  said.  "That's  the 
only  way  in  the  dark.  They  can  see  a  lot  better  than  we 
can,  and  if  men  would  but  let  them  go  their  own  way  in- 
stead of  trying  to  guide  them  they  would  seldom  run 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  l5l 

against  anything.  The  only  thing  is  to  lie  well  down  on 
the  horse's  neck,  otherwise  one  might  get  swept  out  of 
the  saddle  by  a  bough.  It's  a  question  of  nerve.  I  think 
not  many  of  us  would  do  as  Stuart  does,  and  trust  himself 
entirely  to  his  horse's  instinct." 

The  word  was  now  passed  down  the  line  that  perfect 
silence  was  to  be  observed,  and  that  they  were  to  move 
forward  in  column,  the  ranks  closing  up  as  much  as  pos- 
sible so  as  not  to  lose  touch  of  each  other.  With  heads 
bent  down,  and  blankets  wrapped  round  them  as  cloaks, 
the  cavalry  rode  off  through  the  pouring  rain.  The 
thunder  was  clashing  overhead,  and  the  flashes  of  the 
lightning  enabled  them  to  keep  their  places  in  close 
column.  They  went  at  a  rapid  trot,  and  even  those  who 
were  ready  to  charge  a  body  of  the  enemy,  however 
numerous,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  experienced  a 
feeling  of  nervousness  as  they  rode  on  in  the  darkness 
through  the  thick  forest  on  their  unknown  errand. 
That  they  were  going  northward  they  knew,  and  knew 
also,  after  a  short  time,  that  they  must  be  entering  the 
lines  of  the  enemy.  They  saw  no  signs  of  watch-fires, 
for  these  would  long  since  have  been  quenched  by  the 
downpour.  After  half  an  hour's  brisk  riding  all  knew 
by  the  sharp  sound  of  the  beat  of  the  horses'  hoofs  that 
they  had  left  the  soft  track  through  the  forest  and  were 
now  upon  a  regular  road. 

"Thank  goodness  for  that!"  Vincent  said  in  a  low  tone 
to  his  next  neighbor.  "I  don't  mind  a  brush  with  the 
enemy,  but  I  own  I  don't  like  the  idea  that  at  any  mo- 
ment my  brains  may  be  knocked  out  by  the  branch  of  a 
tree." 

"I  quite  agree  with  you,"  the  other  replied;  "and  I 
fancy  every  man  felt  the  same." 

There  was  no  doubt  as  to  this.  Hitherto  no  sound  had 
been  heard  save  the  jingling  of  accouterments  and  the 


152  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

dull  heavy  sound  of  the  horses'  tread;  but  now  there 
could  be  heard  mingled  with  these  the  buzz  of  voices, 
and  occasionally  a  low  laugh.  They  were  so  accustomed 
to  wet  that  the  soaking  scarce  inconvenienced  them. 
They  were  out  of  the  forest  now,  and  felt  sure  of  their 
guide;  and  as  to  the  enemy,  they  only  longed  to  discover 
them. 

For  another  hour  the  rapid  advance  continued,  and  all 
felt  sure  that  they  must  now  have  penetrated  through 
the  enemy's  lines  and  be  well  in  his  rear.  At  last  they 
heard  a  challenge  of  sentry.  Then  Stuart's  voice 
shouted,  "Charge!"  and  at  full  gallop  they  rode  into  the 
village  at  Catlet's  Station  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria 
Eailroad,  where  General  Pope  had  his  headquarters. 
Another  minute  and  they  were  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy's 
camp,  where  the  wildest  confusion  reigned.  The  Fed- 
eral officers  rushed  from  their  tents  and  made  off  in  the 
darkness;  but  the  soldiers,  who  were  lying  on  the  line  of 
railroad,  leaped  to  their  feet  and  opened  a  heavy  fire 
upon  their  invisible  foes.  Against  this  the  cavalry, 
broken  up  in  the  camp,  with  its  tents,  its  animals,  and  its 
piles  of  baggage,  could  do  little,  for  it  was  impossible  to 
form  them  up  in  the  broken  and  unknown  ground. 

The  quarters  of  Pope  were  soon  discovered;  he  himself 
had  escaped,  leaving  his  coat  and  hat  behind.  Many  of 
his  officers  were  captured,  and  in  his  quarters  were  found 
a  box  of  official  papers  which  were  invaluable,  as  among 
them  were  copies  of  his  letters  asking  for  reinforcements, 
lists  giving  the  strength  and  position  of  his  troops,  and 
other  particulars  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  Confeder- 
ates. No  time  was  lost,  as  the  firing  would  set  the  whole 
Federal  army  on  the  alert,  and  they  might  find  their  re- 
treat cut  off.  Therefore  placing  their  prisoners  in  the 
center,  and  taking  the  box  of  papers  with  them,  the  cav- 
alry were  called  off  from  the  camp,  and  without  delay 
started  on  their  return  ride. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  153 

They  did  not  take  the  road  by  which  they  had  come, 
but  made  a  long  detour,  and  just  as  daylight  was  break- 
ing re-entered  the  Confederate  lines  without  having  en- 
countered a  foe  from  the  time  of  their  leaving  Catlet'a 
Station.  Short  as  their  stay  in  the  camp  had  been,  few 
of  the  men  had  returned  empty  handed.  The  Northern 
army  was  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  excellent  food 
of  all  descriptions,  forming  the  strongest  possible  con- 
trast to  the  insufficient  rations  upon  which  the  Confed- 
erate troops  existed,  and  the  troopers  had  helped  them- 
selves to  whatever  they  could  lay  hands  upon  in  the 
darkness  and  confusion. 

Some  rode  in  with  a  ham  slung  on  each  side  of  their 
saddles,  others  had  secured  a  bottle  or  two  of  wine  or 
spirits.  Some  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  lay  hands 
on  some  tins  of  coffee  or  a  canister  of  tea,  luxuries  which 
for  months  had  been  unknown  to  them  save  when  they 
were  captured  from  the  enemy.  The  only  article  cap- 
tured of  no  possible  utility  was  General  Pope's  coat, 
which  was  sent  to  Richmond,  where  it  was  hung  up  for 
public  inspection;  a  wag  sticking  up  a  paper  beside  it, 
"This  is  the  coat  in  which  General  Pope  was  going  to 
ride  in  triumph  into  Richmond.  The  coat  is  here,  but 
the  general  has  not  yet  arrived." 

The  Confederates  had  lost  but  two  or  three  men  from 
the  fire  of  the  Federal  infautry,  and  they  were  in  high 
spirits  at  the  success  of  their  raid.  No  sooner  had  Gen- 
eral Lee  informed  himself  of  the  contents  of  the  papers 
and  the  position  of  the  enemy's  forces  than  he  de- 
termined to  strike  a  heavy  blow  at  him;  and  General 
Jackson,  who  had  been  sharply  engaged  with  the  enemy 
near  Warrenton,  was  ordered  to  make  a  long  detour,  to 
cross  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  through  Thoroughfare 
Gap,  to  fall  upon  Pope's  rear  and  cut  his  communications 
with  Washington,  and  if  possible  to  destroy  the  vast  depot 
of  stores  collected  at  Manassas. 


154  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

The  cavalry,  under  Stuart,  were  to  accompany  him. 
The  march  would  be  a  tremendous  one,  the  danger  of 
thus  venturing  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country  im- 
mense, but  the  results  of  such  an  expedition  would,  if 
successful,  be  great;  for  Lee  himself  was  to  advance  with 
his  army  on  Pope's  flank,  and  there  was  therefore  a  pos- 
sibility of  the  utter  defeat  of  that  general  before  he  could 
be  joined  by  the  army  marching  to  reinforce  him  from 
Fredericksburg. 

It  was  on  Monday  the  25th  of  August  that  Jackson 
started  on  his  march,  ascending  the  banks  of  the  Bappa- 
hannock,  and  crossed  the  river  at  a  ford,  dragging  his 
artillery  with  difficulty  up  the  narrow  and  rocky  road  be- 
yond. There  was  not  a  moment  to  be  lost,  for  if  the 
news  reached  the  enemy  the  gorge  known  as  Thorough- 
fare Gap  would  be  occupied,  and  the  whole  object  of  the 
movement  be  defeated.  Onward  the  force  pushed,  press- 
ing on  through  fields  and  lanes  without  a  single  halt, 
until  at  night,  hungry  and  weary  but  full  of  spirit,  they 
marched  into  the  little  town  of  Salem,  twenty  miles  from 
their  starting-place.  They  had  neither  wagons  nor  pro- 
visions with  them,  and  had  nothing  to  eat  but  some  ears 
of  corn  and  green  apples  plucked  on  the  road. 

It  was  midnight  when  they  reached  Salem,  and  the  in- 
habitants turned  out  in  blank  amazement  at  the  sight  of 
Confederate  troops  in  that  region,  and  welcomed  the 
weary  soldiers  with  the  warmest  manifestations.  At  day- 
light they  were  again  upon  the  march,  with  Stuart's  cav- 
alry, as  before,  out  upon  each  flank.  Thoroughfare  Gap 
was  reached,  and  found  undefended,  and  after  thirty 
miles'  marching  the  exhausted  troops  reached  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Manassas.  The  men  were  faint  from  want  of 
food,  and  many  of  them  limped  along  barefooted;  but 
they  were  full  of  enthusiasm. 
Just  at  sunset  Stuart,  riding  on  ahead,  captured  Bristoe, 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  155 

a  station  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Eailroad  four  miles 
from  Manassas.  As  they  reached  it  a  train  came  along 
at  full  speed.  It  was  fired  at,  but  did  not  stop,  and  got 
safely  through  to  Manassas.  Two  trains  that  followed 
were  captured;  but  by  this  time  the  alarm  had  spread, 
and  no  more  trains  arrived.  Jackson  had  gained  his 
point.  He  had  placed  himself  on  the  line  of  communi- 
cation of  the  enemy,  but  his  position  was  a  dangerous 
one  indeed.  Lee,  who  was  following  him,  was  still  far 
away.  An  army  was  marching  from  Fredericksburg 
against  him,  another  would  be  dispatched  from  Washing- 
ton as  soon  as  the  news  of  his  presence  was  known,  and 
Pope  might  turn  and  crush  him  before  Lee  could  arrive 
to  his  assistance. 

Worn  out  as  the  troops  were,  it  was  necessary  at  once 
to  gain  possession  of  Manassas,  and  the  21st  North  Caro- 
lina and  21st  Georgia  volunteered  for  the  service,  and, 
joined  by  Stuart  with  a  portion  of  his  cavalry,  marched 
against  it.  After  a  brief  contest  the  place  was  taken,  the 
enemy  stationed  there  being  all  taken  prisoners.  The 
amount  of  arms  and  stores  captured  was  prodigious. 
Eight  pieces  of  artillery,  250  horses,  3  locomotives,  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  barrels  of  beef,  pork,  and  flour,  with 
an  enormous  quantity  of  public  stores  and  the  contents 
of  innumerable  sutlers'  shops. 

The  sight  of  this  vast  abundance  to  starving  men  was 
tantalizing  in  the  extreme.  It  was  impossible  to  carry 
any  of  it  away  and  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  have  at 
least  one  good  meal.  The  troops  therefore  were  marched 
in  and  each  helped  himself  to  as  much  as  he  could  con- 
sume, and  the  ragged  and  barefooted  men  feasted  upon 
tinned  salmon  and  lobsters,  champagne  and  dainties  of 
every  description  forwarded  for  the  use  of  officers.  Then 
they  set  to  work  to  pile  the  enormous  mass  of  stores  to- 
gether and  to  set  it  on  fire.     While  they  were  engaged  at 


156  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

this  a  brigade  of  New  Jersey  troops  which  had  come  out 
from  Washington  to  save  Manassas  was  attacked  and 
utterly  routed.  Ewell's  division  had  remained  at  Bristoe, 
while  those  of  Hill  and  Jackson  moved  to  Manassas,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  afternoon  Ewell  saw  the  whole  of 
Pope's  army  marching  against  him. 

He  held  them  in  check  for  some  hours,  and  thus  gave 
the  troops  at  Manassas  time  to  destroy  completely  the 
vast  accumulation  of  stores,  and  when  Stuart's  cavalry, 
covering  the  retreat,  fell  back  at  nightfall  through  Ma- 
nassas, nothing  but  blackened  cinders  remained  where 
the  Federal  depots  had  been  situated.  The  blow  to  the 
Northerners  was  as  heavy  as  it  was  unexpected.  Pope 
had  no  longer  either  provisions  for  his  men  or  forage  for 
his  cattle,  and  there  was  nothing  left  for  him  but  to  force 
his  way  past  Jackson  and  retire  upon  Washington. 

Jackson  had  now  the  option  of  falling  back  and  allow- 
ing the  enemy  to  pass,  or  of  withstanding  the  whole  Fed- 
eral army  with  his  own  little  force  until  Lee  came  up  to 
the  rescue.  He  chose  the  latter  course,  and  took  up  a 
strong  position.  The  sound  of  firing  at  Thoroughfare 
Gap  was  audible,  and  he  knew  that  Longstreet's  division 
of  Lee's  army  was  hotly  engaged  with  a  force  which,  now 
that  it  was  too  late,  had  been  sent  to  hold  the  gorge.  It 
was  nearly  sunset  before  Pope  brought  up  his  men  to  the 
attack.  Jackson  did  not  stand  on  the  defensive,  but 
rushed  down  and  attacked  the  enemy — whose  object  had 
been  to  pass  the  position  and  press  on — with  such  vigor 
that  at  nine  o'clock  they  fell  back. 

An  hour  later  a  horseman  rode  up  with  the  news  that 
Longstreet  had  passed  the  Gap  and  was  pressing  on  at  full 
speed,  and  in  the  morning  his  forces  were  seen  approach- 
ing, the  line  they  were  taking  bringing  them  up  at  an 
angle  to  Jackson's  position.  Thus  their  formation  as 
they  arrived  was  that  of  an  open  V,  and  it  was  through 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  157 

the  angle  of  this  V  that  Pope  had  to  force  his  way.  Be- 
fore Longstreet  could  arrive,  however,  the  enemy  hurled 
themselves  upon  Jackson,  and  for  hours  the  Confederates 
held  their  own  against  the  vast  Federal  army,  Long- 
street's  jorce  being  too  far  away  to  lend  them  a  hand. 
Ammunition  failed,  and  the  soldiers  fought  with  piles  of 
stones,  but  night  fell  without  any  impression  being  made 
upon  these  veterans.  General  Lee  now  came  up  with 
General  Hood's  division,  and  hurled  this  against  the 
Federals  and  drove  them  back.  In  the  evening  Long- 
street's  force  took  up  the  position  General  Lee  had  as- 
signed to  it,  and  in  the  morning  all  the  Confederate  army 
had  arrived,  and  the  battle  recommenced. 

The  struggle  was  long  and  terrible;  but  by  nightfall 
every  attack  had  been  repulsed,  and  the  Confederates, 
advancing  on  all  sides,  drove  the  Northerners,  a  broken 
and  confused  crowd,  before  them,  the  darkness  alone 
saving  them  from  utter  destruction.  Had  there  been  but 
one  hour  more  of  daylight  the  defeat  would  have  been  as 
complete  as  was  that  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Kun,  which 
had  been  fought  on  precisely  the  same  ground.  How- 
ever, under  cover  of  the  darkness  the  Federals  retreated 
to  Centerville,  whence  they  were  driven  on  the  following 
day. 

In  the  tremendous  fighting  in  which  Jackson's  com- 
mand had  for  three  long  days  been  engaged,  the  cavalry 
bore  a  comparatively  small  part.  The  Federal  artillery 
was  too  powerful  to  permit  the  employment  of  large 
bodies  of  cavalry,  and  although  from  time  to  time  charges 
were  made  when  an  opportunity  seemed  to  offer  itself, 
the  battle  was  fought  out  by  the  infantry  and  artillery. 
When  the  end  came  Jackson's  command  was  for  a  time 
Tiors  de  combat.  During  the  long  two  days'  march  they 
had  at  least  gathered  corn  and  apples  to  sustain  life;  but 
during  these  three  days'  fighting  they  had  had  no  food 


158  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

whatever,  and  many  were  so  weak  that  they  could  no 
longer  march. 

They  had  done  all  that  was  possible  for  men  to  do;  had 
for  two  days  withstood  the  attack  of  an  enemy  of  five 
times  their  numbers,  and  had  on  the  final  day  borne  their 
full  share  in  the  great  struggle,  but  now  the  greater  part 
could  do  no  more,  thousands  of  men  were  unable  to  drag 
themselves  a  step  further,  and  Lee's  army  was  reduced  in 
strength  for  the  time  by  nearly  20,000  men.  All  these 
afterward  rejoined  it;  some  as  soon  as  they  recovered 
limped  away  to  take  their  places  in  the  ranks  again, 
others  made  their  way  to  the  depot  at  Warrenton, 
where  Lee  had  ordered  that  all  unable  to  accompany  his 
force  should  rendezvous  until  he  returned  and  they  were 
able  to  rejoin  their  regiments. 

Jackson  marched  away  and  laid  siege  to  Harper's 
Ferry,  an  important  depot  garrisoned  by  11,000  men,  who 
were  forced  to  surrender  just  as  McClellan  with  a  fresh 
army,  100,000  strong,  which  was  pressing  forward  to  its 
succor,  arrived  within  a  day's  march.  As  soon  as  Jackson 
had  taken  the  place  he  hurried  away  with  his  troops  to 
join  Lee,  who  was  facing  the  enemy  at  the  Antietam 
river.  Here  upon  the  following  day  another  terrible 
battle  was  fought;  the  Confederates,  though  but  39,000 
strong,  repulsing  every  attack  by  the  Federals,  and 
driving  them  with  terrible  slaughter  back  across  the 
river. 

Their  own  loss,  however,  had  been  very  heavy,  and  Lee, 
knowing  that  he  could  expect  no  assistance,  while  the 
enemy  were  constantly  receiving  reinforcements,  waited 
for  a  day  to  collect  his  wounded,  bury  his  dead,  and  send 
his  stores  and  artillery  to  the  rear,  and  then  retired  un- 
pursued  across  the  Eappahannock.  Thus  the  hard- 
fought  campaign  came  to  an  end. 

Vincent  Wingfield  was  not  with  the  army  that  retired 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  159 

across  the  Eappahaunock.  A  portion  of  the  cavalry  had 
followed  the  broken  Federals  to  the  very  edge  of  the 
stream,  and  just  as  they  reined  in  their  horses  a  round 
shot  from  one  of  the  Federal  batteries  carried  away  his 
cap,  and  he  fell  as  if  dead  from  his  horse.  During  the 
night  some  of  the  Northerners  crossed  the  stream  to  col- 
lect and  bring  back  their  own  wounded  who  had  fallen 
near  it,  and  coming  across  Vincent,  and  finding  that  he 
still  breathed,  and  was  apparently  without  a  wound,  they 
carried  him  back  with  them  across  the  river  as  a  prisoner. 

Vincent  had  indeed  escaped  without  a  wound,  having 
been  only  stunned  by  the  passage  of  the  shot  that  had 
carried  away  his  cap,  and  missed  him  but  by  the  fraction 
of  an  inch.  He  had  begun  to  recover  consciousness  just 
as  his  captors  came  up,  and  the  action  of  carrying  him 
completely  restored  him.  That  he  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Northerners  he  was  well  aware;  but  he  was 
unable  to  imagine  how  this  had  happened.  He  remem- 
bered that  the  Confederates  had  been,  up  to  the  moment 
when  he  fell,  completely  successful,  and  he  could  only 
imagine  that  in  a  subsequent  attack  the  Federals  had 
turned  the  tables  upon  them. 

How  he  himself  had  fallen,  or  what  had  happened  to 
him,  he  had  no  idea.  Beyond  a  strange  feeling  of  numb- 
ness in  the  head  he  was  conscious  of  no  injury,  and  he 
could  only  imagine  that  his  horse  had  been  shot  under 
him,  and  that  he  must  have  fallen  upon  his  head.  The 
thought  that  his  favorite  horse  was  killed  afflicted  him 
almost  as  much  as  his  own  capture.  As  soon  as  his 
captors  perceived  that  their  prisoner's  consciousness  had 
returned  they  at  once  reported  that  an  officer  of  Stuart's 
cavalry  had  been  taken,  and  at  daybreak  next  morning 
General  McClellan  on  rising  was  acquainted  with  the 
fact,  and  Vincent  was  conducted  to  his  tent. 

"You  are  unwounded,  sir?"  the  general  said  in  some 
surprise. 


160  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  am,  general,"  Vincent  replied.  "I  do  not  know 
how  it  happened,  but  I  believe  that  my  horse  must  have 
been  shot  under  me,  and  that  I  must  have  been  thrown 
and  stunned;  however,  I  remember  nothing  from  the 
moment  when  I  heard  the  word  halt,  just  as  we  reached 
the  side  of  the  stream,  to  that  when  I  found  myself  being 
carried  here." 

"You  belong  to  the  cavalry?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Was  Lee's  force  all  engaged  yesterday?" 

"I  do  not  know,"  Vincent  said.  "I  only  came  up 
with  Jackson's  division  from  Harper's  Ferry  the  evening 
before." 

"I  need  not  have  questioned  you,"  McClellan  said.  "I 
know  that  Lee's  whole  army,  100,000  strong,  opposed  me 
yesterday." 

Vincent  was  silent.  He  was  glad  to  see  that  the  Fed- 
eral general,  as  usual,  enormously  overrated  the  strength 
of  the  force  opposed  to  him. 

"I  hear  that  the  whole  of  the  garrison  of  Harper's 
Ferry  were  released  on  parole  not  to  serve  again  during 
the  war.  If  you  are  ready  to  give  me  your  promise  to 
the  same  effect  I  will  allow  you  to  return  to  your  friends; 
if  not,  you  must  remain  a  prisoner  until  you  are  regu- 
larly exchanged." 

"I  must  do  so,  then,  general,"  Vincent  said  quietly. 
"I  could  not  return  home  and  remain  inactive  while 
every  man  in  the  South  is  fighting  for  the  defense  of  his 
country,  so  I  will  take  my  chance  of  being  exchanged." 

"I  am  sorry  you  choose  that  alternative,"  McClellan 
said.  "I  hate  to  see  brave  men  imprisoned  if  only  for  a 
day;  and  braver  men  than  those  across  yonder  stream  are 
not  to  be  found.  My  officers  and  men  are  astonished. 
They  seem  so  thin  and  worn  as  to  be  scarce  able  to  lift  a 
musket,  their  clothes  are  fit  only  for  a  scarecrow,  they 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  161 

are  indeed  pitiful  objects  to  look  at;  but  the  way  in 
which  they  fight  is  wonderful.  I  could  not  have  believed 
had  I  not  seen  it,  that  men  could  have  charged  as  they 
did  again  and  again  across  ground  swept  by  a  tremendous 
artillery  and  musketry  fire;  it  was  wonderful!  I  can  tell 
you,  young  sir,  that  even  though  you  beat  us  we  are 
proud  of  you  as  our  countrymen;  and  I  believe  that  if 
your  General  Jackson  were  to  ride  through  our  camp  he 
would  be  cheered  as  lustily  and  heartily  by  our  men  as 
he  is  by  his  own." 

Some  fifty  or  sixty  other  prisoners  had  been  taken; 
they  had  been  captured  in  the  hand-to-hand  struggle  that 
had  taken  place  on  some  parts  of  the  field,  having  got 
separated  from  their  corps  and  mixed  up  with  the 
enemy,  and  carried  off  the  field  with  them  as  they  re- 
tired. These  for  the  most  part  accepted  the  offered 
parole;  but  some  fifteen,  like  Vincent,  preferred  a  North- 
ern prison  to  promising  to  abstain  from  fighting  in  de- 
fense of  their  country,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  day  they 
were  placed  together  in  a  tent  under  a  guard  at  the  rear 
of  the  camp. 

The  next  morning  came  the  news  that  Lee  had  fallen 
back.  There  was  exultation  among  the  Federals,  not 
unmingled  with  a  strong  sense  of  relief;  for  the  heavy 
losses  inflicted  in  the  previous  fighting  had  taken  all  the 
ardor  of  attack  out  of  McClellan's  army,  and  they  were 
glad  indeed  that  they  were  not  to  be  called  upon  to  make 
another  attempt  to  drive  the  Confederates  from  their 
position.  Vincent  was  no  less  pleased  at  the  news.  He 
knew  how  thin  were  the  ranks  of  the  Confederate  fight- 
ing men,  and  how  greatly  they  were  worn  and  exhausted 
by  fatigue  and  want  of  food,  and  that,  although  they  had 
the  day  before  repulsed  the  attacks  of  the  masses  of  well- 
fed  Northerners,  such  tremendous  exertions  could  not 
often  be  repeated,  and  a  defeat,  with  the  river  in  their 


162  WITH  LEE  IN  VIB&IN1A. 

rear,  approachable  only  by  one  rough  and  narrow  road, 
would  have  meant  a  total  destruction  of  the  army. 

The  next  morning  Vincent  and  his  companions  were 
put  into  the  train  and  sent  to  Alexandria.  They  had  no 
reason  to  complain  of  their  treatment  upon  the  way. 
They  were  well  fed,  and  after  their  starvation  diet  for 
the  last  six  weeks  their  rations  seemed  to  them  actually 
luxurious.  The  Federal  troops  in  Alexandria,  who  were 
for  the  most  part  young  recruits  who  had  just  arrived 
from  the  north  and  west,  looked  with  astonishment  upon 
these  thin  and  ragged  men,  several  of  whom  were  bare- 
footed. Was  it  possible  that  such  scarecrows  as  these 
could  in  every  battle  have  driven  back  the  well-fed  and 
cared-for  Northern  soldiers! 

"Are  they  all  like  this?"  one  burly  young  soldier  from 
a  western  State  asked  their  guard. 

"That's  them,  sir,"  the  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  party 
replied.  "Not  much  to  look  at,  are  they?  But,  by  gosh, 
you  should  see  them  fight!  You  wouldn't  think  of  their 
looks  then." 

"If  that's  soldiering,"  the  young  farmer  said  solemnly, 
"the  sooner  I  am  back  home  again  the  better.  But  it 
don't  seem  to  me  altogether  strange  as  they  should  fight 
so  hard,  because  I  should  say  they  must  look  upon  it  as  a 
comfort  to  be  killed  rather  than  to  live  like  that." 

A  shout  of  laughter  from  the  prisoners  showed  the 
young  rustic  that  the  objects  of  his  pity  did  not  consider 
life  to  be  altogether  intolerable  even  under  such  circum- 
stances, and  he  moved  away  meditating  on  the  discom- 
forts of  war,  and  upon  the  remarks  that  would  be  made 
were  he  to  return  home  in  so  sorrowful  a  plight  as  that 
of  these  Confederate  prisoners. 

"I  bargained  to  fight,"  he  said,  "and  though  I  don't 
expect  I  shall  like  it,  I  shan't  draw  back  when  the  time 
comes;  but  as  to  being  starved  till  you  are  nigh  a  skele- 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  163 

ton,  and  going  about  barefooted  and  in  such,  rags  as  a 
tramp  wouldn't  look  at,  it  ain't  reasonable."  And  yet, 
had  he  known  it,  among  those  fifteen  prisoners  more  than 
half  were  possessors  of  wide  estates,  and  had  been  brought 
up  from  their  childhood  in  the  midst  of  luxuries  such  as 
the  young  farmer  never  dreamed  of. 

Among  many  of  the  soldiers  sympathy  took  a  more 
active  form,  and  men  pressed  forward  and  gave  packets 
of  tobacco,  cigars,  and  other  little  presents  to  them, 
while  two  or  three  pressed  rolls  of  dollar  notes  into  their 
hands,  with  words  of  rough  kindness. 

''There  ain't  no  ill  feeling  in  us,  Eebs.  You  have  done 
your  work  like  men  and  no  doubt  you  thinks  your  cause 
is  right,  just  as  we  does;  but  it's  all  over  now,  and  maybe 
our  turn  will  come  next  to  see  the  inside  of  one  of  your 
prisons  down  south.  So  we  are  just  soldiers  together, 
and  can  feel  for  each  other.'"' 

Discipline  in  small  matters  was  never  strictly  enforced 
in  the  American  armies,  and  the  sergeant  in  charge 
offered  no  opposition  to  the  soldiers  mingling  with  the 
prisoners  as  they  walked  along. 

Two  days  later  they  were  sent  by  railway  to  the  great 
prison  at  Elmira,  a  town  in  the  southwest  of  the  State  of 
New  York.  When  they  reached  the  jail  the  prisoners 
were  separated,  Vincent,  who  was  the  only  officer,  being 
assigned  quarters  with  some  twenty  others  of  the  same 
rank.  The  prisoners  crowded  round  him  as  he  entered, 
eager  to  hear  the  last  news  from  the  front,  for  they 
heard  from  their  guards  only  news  of  constant  victories 
won  by  the  Northerners;  for  every  defeat  was  trans- 
formed by  the  Northern  papers  into  a  brilliant  victory, 
and  it  was  only  when  the  shattered  remains  of  the  vari- 
ous armies  returned  to  Alexandria  to  be  re-formed  that 
the  truth  gradually  leaked  out.  Thus  Antietam  had 
been  claimed  as  a  great  Northern  victory,  for  although 


164  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

McClellan's  troops  had  in  the  battle  been  hurled  back 
shattered  and  broken  across  the  river,  two  days  afterward 
Lee  had  retired. 

One  of  the  prisoners,  who  was  also  dressed  in  cavalry 
uniform,  hung  back  from  the  rest,  and  going  to  the 
window  looked  out  while  Vincent  was  chatting  with  the 
others.  Presently  he  turned  round,  and  Vincent  recog- 
nized with  surprise  his  old  opponent  Jackson.  After  a 
moment's  hesitation  he  walked  across  the  room  to  him. 

"Jackson/'  he  said,  "we  have  not  been  friends  lately, 
but  I  don't  see  why  we  should  keep  up  our  quarrel  any 
longer;  we  got  on  all  right  at  school  together;  and  now 
we  are  prisoners  together  here  it  would  be  foolish  to  con- 
tinue our  quarrel.  Perhaps  we  were  both  somewhat  to 
blame  in  that  affair.  I  am  quite  willing  to  allow  I  was, 
for  one,  but  I  think  we  might  well  put  it  all  aside  now." 

Jackson  hesitated,  and  then  took  the  hand  Vincent 
held  out  to  him. 

"That's  right,  young  fellows,"  one  of  the  other  officers 
said.  "Now  that  every  Southern  man  is  fighting  and  giv- 
ing his  life,  if  need  be,  for  his  country,  no  one  has  a  right 
to  have  private  quarrels  of  his  own.  Life  is  short  enough 
as  it  is,  certainly  too  short  to  indulge  in  private  animos- 
ities. A  few  weeks  ago  we  were  fighting  side  by  side, 
and  facing  death  together;  to-day  we  are  prisoners;  a 
week  hence  we  may  be  exchanged,  and  soon  take  our 
places  in  the  ranks  again.  It's  the  duty  of  all  Southern- 
ers to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  there  ought  to  be 
no  such  thing  as  ill-feeling  among  ourselves." 

Vincent  was  not  previously  aware  that  Jackson  had  ob- 
tained a  commission.  He  now  learned  that  he  had  been 
chosen  by  his  comrades  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  an  officer  in  a  skirmish  just  before  Pope  fell 
back  from  the  Rappahannock,  and  that  he  had  been  made 
prisoner  a  few  days  afterward  in  a  charge  against  a 
greatly  superior  body  of  Federal  cavalry. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  165 

The  great  majority  of  the  officers  on  both  sides  were  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war  chosen  by  their  comrades, 
the  elections  at  first  taking  place  once  a  year.  This, 
however,  was  found  to  act  very  badly.  In  some  cases  the 
best  men  in  the  regiment  were  chosen;  but  too  often  men 
who  had  the  command  of  money,  and  could  afford  to 
stand  treat  and  get  in  supplies  of  food  and  spirits,  were 
elected.  The  evils  of  the  system  were  found  so  great, 
indeed,  that  it  was  gradually  abandoned;  but  in  cases  of 
vacancies  occurring  in  the  field,  and  there  being  a  neces- 
sity for  at  once  filling  them  up,  the  colonels  of  the  regi- 
ments had  power  to  make  appointments,  and  if  the 
choice  of  the  men  was  considered  to  be  satisfactory  their 
nominee  would  be  generally  chosen. 

In  the  case  of  Jackson,  the  colonel  had  hesitated  in 
confirming  the  choice  of  the  men.  He  did  not  for  a  mo- 
ment suspect  him  to  be  wanting  in  courage;  but  he  re- 
garded him  as  one  who  shirked  his  work,  and  who  won 
the  votes  of  the  men  rather  by  a  fluent  tongue  and  by  the 
violence  of  his  expressions  of  hatred  against  the  North 
than  by  any  soldierly  qualities. 

Some  of  the  officers  had  been  months  in  prison,  and 
they  were  highly  indignant  at  the  delays  that  had  oc- 
curred in  effecting  their  exchange.  The  South,  indeed, 
would  have  been  only  too  glad  to  get  rid  of  some  of  their 
numerous  prisoners,  who  were  simply  an  expense  and 
trouble  to  them,  and  to  get  their  own  men  back  into  their 
ranks.  They  could  ill  spare  the  soldiers  required  to 
guard  so  large  a  number  of  prisoners,  and  a  supply  of 
food  was  in  itself  a  serious  matter. 

Thus  it  was  that  at  Harper's  Perry  and  upon  a  good 
many  other  occasions  they  released  vast  numbers  of  pris- 
oners on  their  simple  paroles  not  to  serve  again.  The 
North,  however,  were  in  no  hurry  to  make  exchange. 


10g  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTEE  X. 

THE    ESCAPE. 

The  discipline  in  the  prison  at  Elmira  was  not  rigor- 
ous. The  prisoners  had  to  clean  up  the  cells,  halls,  and 
yard,  but  the  rest  of  their  time  they  could  spend  as  they 
liked.  Some  of  those  whose  friends  had  money  were 
able  to  live  in  comparative  luxury,  and  to  assist  those 
who  had  no  such  resources;  for  throughout  the  war 
there  was  never  any  great  difficulty  in  passing  letters  to 
and  from  the  South.  The  line  of  frontier  was  enormous, 
and  it  was  only  at  certain  points  that  hostilities  were 
actively  carried  on,  consequently  letters  and  newspapers 
were  freely  passed,  and  money  could  be  sent  in  the  same 
way  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another. 

At  certain  hours  of  the  day  hawkers  and  venders  of 
such  articles  as  were  in  most  demand  by  the  prisoners 
were  allowed  to  enter  the  yard  and  to  sell  their  wares  to 
the  Confederates.  Spirits  were  not  allowed  to  be  carried 
in,  but  tobacco  and  all  kinds  of  food  were  permitted  to 
pass.  Vincent  had  at  Alexandria  written  a  letter  to  his 
mother,  and  had  given  it  to  a  man  who  represented  that 
he  made  it  his  business  to  forward  letters  to  an  agent  at 
Eichmond,  being  paid  for  each  letter  the  sum  of  a  dollar 
on  its  delivery.  Vincent  therefore  felt  confident  that  the 
anxiety  that  would  be  felt  at  home  when  they  learned 
that  he  was  among  the  missing  at  the  battle  of  Antietam 
would  be  relieved. 

He  was  fairly  supplied  with  money.     He  had,  indeed, 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  167 

had  several  hundred  dollars  with  him  at  the  time  he  was 
captured;  but  these  were  entirely  in  Confederate  notes, 
for  which  he  got  but  half  their  value  in  Northern  paper 
at  Alexandria.  He  himself  found  the  rations  supplied  in 
the  prison  ample,  and  was  able  to  aid  any  of  his  fellow- 
prisoners  in  purchasing  clothes  to  replace  the  rags  they 
wore  when  captured. 

One  day  Vincent  strolled  down  as  usual  toward  the 
gate,  where,  under  the  eye  of  the  guard,  a  row  of  men 
and  women,  principally  negroes  and  negresses,  were  sit- 
ting on  the  ground  with  their  baskets  in  front  of  them 
containing  tobacco,  pipes,  fruit,  cakes,  needles  and 
thread,  buttons,  and  a  variety  of  other  articles  in  de- 
mand, while  a  number  of  prisoners  were  bargaining  and 
joking  with  them.  Presently  his  eye  fell  upon  a  negro 
before  whom  was  a  great  pile  of  watermelons.  He 
started  as  he  did  so,  for  he  at  once  recognized  the  well- 
known  face  of  Dan.  As  soon  as  the  negro  saw  that  his 
master's  eye  had  fallen  upon  him  he  began  loudly  prais- 
ing the  quality  of  his  fruit. 

"Here,  massa  officer,  here  bery  fine  melyons,  ripe  and 
sweet;  no  green  trash;  dis  un  good  right  through.  Five 
cents  each,  sah.     Bery  cheap  dese." 

"I  expect  they  cost  you  nothing,  Sambo,"  one  of  the 
Confederate  soldiers  said  as  he  bought  a  melon.  "Got  a 
neighbor's  patch  handy,  eh?" 

Dan  grinned  at  the  joke,  and  then  selecting  another 
from  the  bottom  of  his  pile  in  the  basket,  offered  it  to 
Vincent. 

"Dis  fine  fruit,  sah.     Me  sure  you  please  with  him!" 

Vincent  took  the  melon  and  handed  Dan  five  cents.  A 
momentary  glance  was  exchanged,  and  then  he  walked 
away  and  sat  down  in  a  quiet  corner  of  the  yard  and  cut 
open  the  melon.  As  he  expected,  he  found  a  note  rolled 
up  in  the  center.     A  small  piece  of  the  rind  had  been  cut 


168  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

out  and  the  pulp  removed  for  its  reception.  The  hit  of 
rind  had  then  been  carefully  replaced  so  that  the  cut 
would  not  be  noticed  without  close  inspection.  It  was 
from  one  of  his  fellow-officers,  and  was  dated  the  day 
after  his  capture.     He  read  as  follows: 

"My  Dear  Wingfield:  We  are  all  delighted  this 
afternoon  to  hear  that  instead,  as  we  had  believed,  of 
your  being  knocked  on  the  head  you  are  a  prisoner 
among  the  Yanks.  Several  of  us  noticed  you  fall  just  as 
we  halted  at  the  river,  and  we  all  thought  that  from  the 
way  in  Avhich  you  fell  you  had  been  shot  through  the 
head  or  heart.  However,  there  was  no  time  to  inquire  in 
that  terrific  storm  of  shot  and  shell.  In  the  morning 
when  the  burying  parties  went  down  we  could  find  no 
signs  of  you,  although  we  knew  almost  to  a  foot  where 
you  had  fallen. 

"We  could  only  conclude  at  last  that  you  had  been 
carried  off  in  the  night  by  the  Yanks,  and  as  they  would 
hardly  take  the  trouble  of  carrying  off  a  dead  body,  it  oc- 
curred to  us  that  you  might  after  all  be  alive.  So  the 
colonel  went  to  Lee,  who  at  once  sent  a  trumpeter  with  a 
flag  down  to  the  river  to  inquire,  and  we  were  all 
mightily  pleased,  as  you  may  imagine,  when  he  came 
back  with  the  news  that  you  were  not  only  a  prisoner, 
but  unwounded,  having  been  only  stunned  in  some  way. 
Prom  the  way  you  fell  we  suppose  a  round  shot  must  have 
grazed  your  head;  at  least  that  is  the  only  way  we  can 
account  for  it. 

"Your  horse  came  back  unhurt  to  the  troop,  and  will 
be  well  cared  for  until  you  rejoin  us,  which  we  hope  will 
not  be  long.  Your  boy  kept  the  camp  awake  last  night 
with  his  bowlings,  and  is  at  present  almost  out  of  his  mind 
with  delight.  He  tells  me  he  has  made  up  his  mind  to  slip 
across  the  lines  and  make  his  way  as  a  runaway  to  Alex- 
andria, where  you  will,  of  course,  be  taken  in  the  first 
place.  He  says  he's  got  some  money  of  yours;  but  I 
have  insisted  on  his  taking  another  fifty  dollars,  which 
you  can  repay  me  when  we  next  meet.  As  he  will  not 
have  to  ask  for  work,  he  may  escape  the  usual  lot  of  run- 
aways, who  are  generally  pounced  upon  and  set  to  work 
on  the  fortifications  of  Alexandria  and  Washington. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  169 

"He  intends  to  find  out  what  prison  you  are  taken  to, 
and  to  follow  you,  with  some  vague  idea  of  being  able  to 
aid  you  to  escape.  As  he  cannot  write,  he  has  asked  me 
to  write  this  letter  to  you,  telling  you  what  his  idea  is. 
He  will  give  it  to  you  when  he  finds  an  opportunity,  and 
he  wishes  you  to  give  him  an  answer,  making  any  sug- 
gestion that  may  occur  to  you  as  to  the  best  way  of  his 
setting  about  it.  He  says  that  he  shall  make  acquaint- 
ances among  the  negroes  North,  and  will  find  some  one 
who  will  read  your  note  to  him  and  write  you  an  answer. 
I  have  told  him  that  if  he  is  caught  at  the  game  he  is 
likely  to  be  inside  a  prison  a  bit  longer  than  you  are, 
even  if  worse  doesn't  befall  him.  However,  he  makes 
light  of  this,  and  is  bent  upon  carrying  out  his  plans,  and 
I  can  only  hope  he  will  succeed. 

"I  have  just  heard  that  we  shall  fall  back  across  the 
Eappahannock  to-morrow,  and  I  imagine  there  will  not  be 
much  hard  fighting  again  until  spring,  long  before  which 
I  hope  you  will  be  in  your  place  among  us  again.  We 
lost  twenty-three  men  and  two  officers  (Ketler  and  Sum- 
ner) yesterday.  Good-by,  old  fellow!  I  need  not  say 
keep  up  your  spirits,  for  that  you  are  pretty  sure  to  do. 
"Yours  truly, 

"James  Sinclair." 

After  the  first  start  at  seeing  Dan,  Vincent  was  scarcely 
surprised,  for  he  had  often  thought  over  what  the  boy 
would  do,  and  had  fancied  that  while,  if  he  supposed  him 
dead,  he  would  go  straight  back  to  the  Orangery,  it  was 
quite  possible  that,  should  he  hear  that  he  was  a  prisoner, 
Dan  might  take  it  into  his  head  to  endeavor  to  join  him. 
As  to  his  making  his  escape,  that  did  not  appear  to  be  a 
very  difficult  undertaking  now  that  he  had  a  friend  out- 
side. The  watch  kept  up  was  not  a  very  vigilant  one,  for 
such  numbers  of  prisoners  were  taken  on  both  sides  that 
they  were  not  regarded  as  of  very  great  importance,  and, 
indeed,  the  difficulty  lay  rather  in  making  across  the 
country  to  the  Southern  border  than  in  escaping  from 
prison j  for  with  a  friend  outside,  with  a  disguise  in  readi- 


170  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

ness,  that  matter  was  comparatively  easy.  All  that  was 
required  for  the  adventure  was  a  long  rope,  a  sharp  file, 
and  a  dark  night. 

The  chief  difficulty  that  occurred  to  Vincent  arose 
from  the  fact  that  there  were  some  twenty  other  pris- 
oners in  the  same  ward.  He  could  hardly  file  through 
the  bars  of  the  window  unnoticed  by  them,  and  they 
would  naturally  wish  to  share  in  his  flight;  but  where 
one  person  might  succeed  in  evading  the  vigilance  of  the 
guard,  it  was  unlikely  in  the  extreme  that  twenty  would 
do  so,  and  the  alarm  once  given  all  would  be  recaptured. 
He  was  spared  the  trouble  of  making  up  his  mind  as  to 
his  plans,  for  by  the  time  he  had  finished  his  letter  the 
hour  that  the  hucksters  Avere  allowed  to  sell  their  goods 
was  passed  and  the  gates  were  shut  and  all  was  quiet. 

After  some  thought  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
only  plan  would  be  to  conceal  himself  somewhere  in  the 
prison  just  before  the  hour  at  which  they  were  locked  up 
in  their  wards.  The  alarm  would  be  given,  for  the  list 
of  names  was  called  over  before  lock-up,  and  a  search 
would  of  course  be  made.  Still,  if  he  could  find  a  good 
place  for  concealment,  it  might  succeed,  since  the  search 
after  dark  would  not  be  so  close  and  minute  as  that 
which  would  be  made  next  morning.  The  only  disad- 
vantage would  be  that  the  sentries  would  be  especially  on 
the  alert,  as,  unless  the  fugitive  had  succeeded  in  some 
way  in  passing  out  of  the  gates  in  disguise,  he  must  still 
be  within  the  walls,  and  might  attempt  to  scale  them 
through  the  night.  This  certainty  largely  increased  the 
danger,  and  Vincent  went  to  bed  that  night  without 
finally  determining  what  had  better  be  done. 

The  next  morning  while  walking  in  the  grounds  he 
quite  determined  as  to  the  place  he  would  choose  for  his 
concealment  if  he  adopted  the  plan  he  had  thought  of 
the  evening  before.     The  lower  rooms  upon  one  side  of 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  171 

the  building  -were  inhabited  by  the  governor  and  officers 
of  the  prison,  and  if  he  were  to  spring  through  an  open 
window  unnoticed  just  as  it  became  dusk,  and  hide  him- 
self in  a  cupboard  or  under  a  bed  there  be  would  be  safe 
for  a  time,  as,  however  close  the  search  might  be  in  other 
parts  of  the  building,  it  would  be  scarcely  suspected,  at 
any  rate  on  the  first  alarm,  that  he  had  concealed  himself 
in  the  officers'  quarters.  There  would,  of  course,  be  the 
chance  of  his  being  detected  as  he  got  out  of  the  window 
again  at  night,  but  this  would  not  be  a  great  risk.  It 
was  the  vigilance  of  the  sentries  that  he  most  feared,  and 
the  possibility  that,  as  soon  as  the  fact  of  his  being  miss- 
ing was  known,  a  cordon  of  guards  might  be  stationed 
outside  the  wall  in  addition  to  those  in  the  yard.  The 
danger  appeared  to  him  to  be  so  great  that  he  was  half- 
inclined  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  It  would  certainly 
be  weary  work  to  be  shut  up  there  for  perhaps  a  year 
while  his  friends  were  fighting  the  battles  of  his  country; 
but  it  would  be  better  after  ail  to  put  with  that  than  to 
run  any  extreme  risk  of  being  shot. 

When  he  had  arrived  at  this  conclusion  he  went  up- 
stairs to  his  room  to  write  a  line  to  Dan.  The  day  was  a 
fine  one,  and  he  found  that  the  whole  of  the  occupants 
of  the  room  had  gone  below.  This  was  an  unexpected 
bit  of  good  fortune,  and  he  at  once  went  to  the  window 
and  examined  the  bars.  They  were  thick  and  of  new 
iron,  but  had  been  hastily  put  up.  The  building  had 
originally  been  a  large  warehouse,  and  when  it  had  been 
converted  into  a  prison  for  the  Confederate  prisoners  the 
bars  had  been  added  to  the  windows.  Instead,  therefore, 
of  being  built  into  solid  stone  and  fastened  in  by  lead, 
they  were  merely  screwed  on  to  the  wooden  framework  of 
the  windows,  and  by  a  strong  turn-screw  a  bar  could  be 
removed  in  five  minutes.  This  altogether  altered  the 
position.     He  had  only  to  wait  until  the  rest  of  the  oc- 


172  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

cupants  of  the  room  were  asleep  and  then  to  remove  the 
bar  and  let  himself  down 
He  at  once  wrote: 

''I  want  twenty  yards  of  strong  string,  and  the  same 
length  of  rope  that  will  bear  my  weight;  also  a  strong 
turn-screw.  When  I  have  got  this  I  will  let  you  know 
night  and  hour.     Shall  want  disguise  ready  to  put  on." 

He  folded  the  note  up  into  a  small  compass,  and  at  the 
hour  at  which  Dan  would  be  about  to  enter  he  sauntered 
down  to  the  gate.  In  a  short  time  the  veuders  entered, 
and  were  soon  busy  selling  their  wares.  Dan  had,  as  be- 
fore, a  basket  of  melons.  Vincent  made  his  way  up  to 
him. 

"I  want  another  melon,"  he  said,"  as  good  as  that  you 
^oid  me  last  night." 

"Dey  all  de  same,  sah.  First-rate  melyons  dese;  just 
melt  away  in  your  mouf  like  honey." 

He  held  up  one  of  the  melons,  and  Vincent  placed  in 
his  hands  the  coppers  in  payment.  Between  two  of 
them  he  had  placed  the  little  note.  Dan's  hands  closed 
quickly  on  the  coins,  and  dropping  them  into  his  pocket 
he  addressed  the  next  customer,  while  Vincent  sauntered 
away  again.  This  time  the  melon  was  a  whole  one,  and 
Vincent  divided  it  with  a  couple  of  other  prisoners,  for 
the  fruit  was  too  large  for  one  person  to  consume,  being 
quite  as  large  as  a  man's  head. 

The  next  day  another  melon  was  bought,  but  this  time 
Vincent  did  not  open  it  in  public.  Examining  it  closely, 
he  perceived  that  it  had  been  cut  through  the  middle, 
and  no  doubt  contained  a  portion  of  the  rope.  He  hesi- 
tated as  to  his  next  step.  If  he  took  the  melon  up  to  his 
room  he  would  be  sure  to  find  some  men  there,  and 
would  be  naturally  called  upon  to  divide  the  fruit;  and 
yet  there  was  nowhere  else  he  could  hide  it.     For  a  long 


WITH  LEE  IJST  VIRGINIA.  173 

time  he  sat  with  his  back  to  the  wall  and  the  melon  be- 
side him,  abusing  himself  for  his  folly  in  not  having  told 
Dan  to  send  the  rope  in  small  lengths  that  he  could  hide 
about  him.  The  place  where  he  had  sat  down  was  one  of 
the  quietest  in  the  yard,  but  men  were  constantly  stroll- 
ing  up  and  down.  He  determined  at  last  that  the  only 
possible  plan  was  in  the  first  place  to  throw  his  coat  over 
his  melon,  to  tuck  it  up  underneath  it,  then  to  get  hold 
of  one  end  of  the  ball  of  rope  that  it  doubtless  contained 
and  to  endeavor  to  wind  it  round  his  body  without  being1 
observed.  It  was  a  risky  business,  and  he  would  gladly 
have  tossed  the  melon  over  the  wall  had  he  dared  to  do 
so;  for  if  he  were  detected,  not  only  would  he  be  pun- 
ished with  much  more  severe  imprisonment,  but  Dan 
might  be  arrested  and  punished  most  severely. 

Unfortunately  the  weather  was  by  no  means  hot,  and 
it  would  look  strange  to  take  off  his  coat,  besides,  if  he 
did  so,  how  could  he  coil  the  rope  round  him  without  be- 
ing observed?  So  that  idea  was  abandoned.  He  got  up 
and  walked  to  an  angle  in  the  wall,  and  there  sat  down 
again,  concealing  the  melon  as  well  as  he  could  between 
him  and  the  wall  when  any  one  happened  to  come  near 
him.  He  pulled  the  halves  apart  and  found,  as  he  had 
suspected,  it  was  but  a  shell,  the  whole  of  the  fruit  hav- 
ing been  scooped  out.  But  he  gave  an  exclamation  of 
pleasure  on  seeing  that  instead,  as  he  feared,  of  a  large 
ball  of  rope  being  inside,  the  interior  was  filled  with 
neatly-made  hanks,  each  containing  several  yards  of  thin 
but  strong  rope,  together  with  a  hank  of  strong  string. 

Unbuttoning  his  coat,  he  thrust  them  in;  then  he  took 
the  melon  rind  and  broke  it  into  very  small  pieces  and 
threw  them  about.  He  then  went  up  to  his  room  and 
thrust  the  hanks,  unobserved,  one  by  one  among  the 
straw  which,  covered  by  an  army  blanket,  constituted  his 
bed.     To-morrow,  no  doubt,  Dan  would  supply  him  some- 


174  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

how  with  a  turn-screw.  On  going  down  to  the  gate  next 
day  he  found  that  the  negro  had  changed  his  commodity, 
and  that  this  time  his  basket  contained  very  large  and 
fine  cucumbers.  These  were  selling  briskly,  and  Vincent 
saw  that  Dan  was  looking  round  anxiously,  and  that  an 
expression  of  relief  came  over  his  face  as  he  perceived 
him.     He  had,  indeed,  but  eight  or  ten  cucumbers  left. 

"Cucumbers  to-day,  sah?  Bery  fine  cucumbers — first- 
rate  cucumbers  dese." 

"They  look  rather  over-ripe,"  Vincent  said. 

"Not  a  bit,  sah;  dey  just  ripe.  Dis  bery  fine  one — 
ten  cents  dis." 

"You  are  putting  up  your  prices,  darkey,  and  are  mak- 
ing a  fortune  out  of  us,"  Vincent  said  as  he  took  the 
cucumber,  which  was  a  very  large  and  straight  one.  He 
had  no  difficulty  with  this,  as  with  the  melon;  a  sharp 
twist  broke  it  in  two  as  he  reached  the  corner  he  had 
used  the  day  previously.  It  had  been  cut  in  half,  one 
end  had  been  scooped  out  for  the  reception  of  the  handle 
of  the  turn-screw,  and  the  metal  been  driven  in  to  the 
head  in  the  other  half.  Hiding  it  under  his  jacket,  he 
felt  that  he  was  now  prepared  for  escape. 

He  now  asked  himself  whether  he  should  go  alone  or 
take  one  or  more  of  his  comrades  into  his  confidence,  and 
finally  determined  to  give  a  young  Virginian  officer 
named  Geary,  with  whom  he  had  been  specially  friendly 
during  his  imprisonment,  and  Jackson,  a  chance  of 
escape.  He  did  not  like  the  latter,  but  he  thought  that 
after  the  reconciliation  that  had  taken  place  between 
them  it  was  only  right  to  take  him  rather  than  a  stranger. 
Drawing  them  aside,  then,  he  told  them  that  he  had  ar- 
ranged a  mode  of  escape;  it  was  impossible  that  all  could 
avail  themselves  of  it,  but  that  they  were  welcome  to  ac- 
company him.  They  thanked  him  heartily  for  the  offer, 
and,  when  he  explained  the  manner  in  which  he  intended 
to  make  off,  agreed  to  try  their  fortune  with  him. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  175 

"I  propose,"  he  said,  "as  soon  as  we  are  fairly  beyond 
the  prison,  we  separate,  and  each  try  to  gain  the  frontier 
as  best  he  can.  The  fact  that  three  prisoners  have 
escaped  will  soon  be  known  all  over  the  country,  and 
there  would  be  no  chance  whatever  for  us  if  we  kept  to- 
gether. I  will  tell  my  boy  to  have  three  disguises  ready; 
and  when  we  once  put  aside  our  uniforms  I  see  no  reason 
why,  traveling  separately,  suspicion  should  fall  upon  us; 
we  ought  to  have  no  difficulty  until  at  any  rate  we  arrive 
near  the  border,  and  there  must  be  plenty  of  points  where 
we  can  cross  without  going  anywhere  near  the  Federal 
camps."  The  others  at  once  agreed  that  the  chances  of 
making  their  way  separately  were  much  greater  than  if 
together.  This  being  arranged,  Vincent  passed  a  note 
next  day  to  Dan,  telling  him  to  have  three  disguises  in 
readiness,  and  to  be  at  the  foot  of  the  western  hall,  half- 
way along,  at  twelve  o'clock  on  the  first  wet  night.  A 
string  would  be  thrown  over,  with  a  knife  fastened  to  it. 
He  was  to  pull  on  the  string  till  the  rope  came  into  his 
hand,  and  to  hold  that  tight  until  they  were  over.  Vincent 
chose  this  spot  because  it  was  equally  removed  from  the 
sentry-boxes  at  the  corners  of  the  yard,  and  because  there 
was  a  stone  seat  in  the  yard  to  which  one  end  of  the  rope 
could  be  attached. 

That  night  was  fine,  but  the  next  was  thick  and  misty. 
At  nine  o'clock  all  were  in  bed,  and  he  lay  listening  to 
the  clocks  in  the  distance.  Ten  struck,  and  eleven,  and 
when  he  thought  it  was  approaching  twelve  he  got  up 
and  crept  to  the  window.  He  was  joined  immediately 
by  the  others;  the  turn-screw  was  set  to  work;  and,  as  he 
expected,  Vincent  found  no  trouble  whatever  with  the 
screws,  which  were  not  yet  rusted  in  the  wood,  and 
turned  immediately  when  the  powerful  screw-driver  was 
applied  to  them.  When  all  were  out  the  bar  was  care- 
fully lifted  from  its  place  and  laid  upon  the  floor. 


176  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

The  rope  was  then  put  round  one  of  the  other  bars  and 
drawn  through  it  until  the  two  ends  came  together. 
These  were  then  dropped  to  the  ground  below.  Geary 
went  first,  Jackson  followed,  and  Vincent  was  soon  stand- 
ing beside  them.  Taking  one  end  of  the  rope,  he  pulled 
it  until  the  other  passed  round  the  bar  and  fell  at  their 
feet.  All  three  were  barefooted,  and  they  stole  noise- 
lessly across  the  yard  to  the  seat,  which  was  nearly  op- 
posite their  window.  Vincent  had  already  fastened  his 
clasp-knife  to  the  end  of  the  string,  and  he  now  threw  it 
over  the  wall,  which  was  about  twenty  feet  high. 

He  had  tied  a  knot  at  forty  feet  from  the  end,  and, 
standing  close  to  the  wall,  he  drew  in  the  string  until  the 
knot  was  in  his  hand.  Another  two  yards,  and  he  knew 
that  the  knife  was  hanging  a  yard  from  the  ground 
against  the  wall.  He  now  drew  it  up  and  down,  hoping 
that  the  slight  noise  the  knife  made  against  the  wall 
might  aid  Dan  in  finding  it.  In  two  or  three  minutes  he 
felt  a  jerk,  and  knew  that  Dan  had  got  it.  He  fastened 
the  end  of  the  string  to  the  rope  and  waited.  The  rope 
was  gradually  drawn  up;  when  it  neared  the  end  he  fas- 
tened it  to  the  stone  seat. 

"Now/'  he  said,  "up  you  go,  Geary." 

The  order  in  which  they  were  to  ascend  had  been  set- 
tled by  lot,  as  Geary  insisted  that  Vincent,  who  had  con- 
trived the  whole  affair,  should  be  the  first  to  escape;  but 
Vincent  declined  to  accept  the  advantage,  and  the  three 
had  accordingly  tossed  up  for  precedence. 

Geary  was  quickly  over,  and  lowered  himself  on  the  op- 
posite side.  The  others  followed  safely,  but  not  without 
a  good  deal  of  scraping  against  the  wall,  for  the  small- 
ness  of  the  rope  added  to  the  difficulty  of  climbing  it. 
However,  the  noise  was  so  slight  that  they  had  little  fear 
of  attracting  attention,  especially  as  the  sentries  would 
be  standing  in  their  boxes,  for  the  rain  was  now  coming 


WITH  LEE  W  VIRGINIA.  177 

down  pretty  briskly.  As  soon  as  they  were  down  Vincent 
seized  Dan  by  the  hand. 

"My  brave  lad,"  he  said,  "I  owe  you  my  freedom,  and 
I  shan't  forget  it.     Now,  where  are  the    clothes?" 

"Here  dey  are,  sah.  One  is  a  rough  suit,  like  a  work- 
ingman's;  another  is  a  black-and-white  sort  of  suit — a 
check-suit;  de  oder  one  is  for  you — a  clargy's  suit,  sir. 
You  make  very  nice  young  minister,  for  sure." 

"All  right,  Dan!"  Vincent  said,  laughing;  "give  me 
the  minister's  suit." 

"Then  I  will  be  the  countryman,"  Geary  said. 

There  was  a  little  suppressed  laughter  as  they  changed 
their  clothes  in  the  dark;  and  then,  leaving  their  uni- 
forms by  the  wall,  they  shook  hands  and  started  at  once 
in  different  directions,  lest  they  might  come  across  some 
one  who  would,  when  the  escape  was  known,  remember 
four  men  having  passed  him  in  the  dark. 

"Now,  Dan,  what  is  the  next  move?"  Vincent  asked 
as  they  walked  off.     "Have  you  fixed  upon  any  plan?" 

"No  special  plan,  sah,  but  I  have  brought  a  bag;  you 
see  I  have  him  in  my  hand." 

"I  suppose  that's  what  you  carried  the  clothes  in?" 

"No,  sir;  I  carried  dem  in  a  bundle.  Dis  bag  has  got 
linen,  and  boots,  and  oder  tings  for  you,  sah.  What  I 
tink  am  de  best  way  is  dis.  Dar  am  a  train  pass  trou 
here  at  two  o'clock  and  stop  at  dis  station.  Some  peo- 
ple always  get  out.  Dar  is  an  hotel  just  opposite  the  sta- 
tion, and  some  of  de  passengers  most  always  go  there.  I 
thought  the  best  way  for  you  would  be  to  go  outside  the 
station.  Just  when  the  train  come  in  we  walk  across  de 
road  wid  the  others  and  go  to  hotel.  You  say  you  want 
bedroom  for  yo'self,  and  that  your  sarvant  can  sleep  in 
de  hall.  Den  in  de  morning  you  get  up  and  breakfast, 
and  go  off  by  de  fust  train." 

"But  then  they  may  send  down  to  look  at  the  passen- 
gers starting,  and  I  should  be  taken  at  once." 


178  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"De  train  go  out  at  seven  o'clock,  sah.  I  don't  expect 
dey  find  dat  you  have  got  away  before  dat." 

"No,  Dan.  We  all  turn  out  at  seven  and  I  shall  be 
missed  then;  but  it  will  be  some  little  time  before  the 
alarm  is  given,  and  they  find  out  how  we  got  away  and 
send  out  search-parties.  If  the  train  is  anything  like 
punctual  we  shall  be  off  long  before  they  get  to  the  sta- 
tion." 

"Besides,  sah,  dar  are  not  many  people  knows  your  face, 
and  it  not  likely  de  bery  man  dat  know  you  come  to  de 
station.  Lots  of  oder  places  to  search,  and  dey  most 
sure  to  tink  you  go  right  away — not  tink  you  venture  to 
stop  in  town  till  de  morning." 

"That  is  so,  Dan;  and  I  think  your  plan  is  a  capital 
one." 

Dan's  suggestion  was  carried  out,  and  at  seven  o'clock 
next  morning  they  were  standing  on  the  platform  among 
a  number  of  other  persons  waiting  for  the  train.  Just  as 
the  locomotive's  whistle  was  heard  the  sound  of  a  cannon 
boomed  out  from  the  direction  of  the  prison. 

"That  means  some  of  the  prisoners  have  escaped,"  one 
of  the  porters  on  the  platform  said.  "There  have  been 
five  or  six  of  them  got  away  in  the  last  two  months,  but 
most  of  them  have  been  caught  again  before  they  have  gone 
far.  You  see,  to  have  a  chance  at  all,  they  have  got  to 
get  rid  of  their  uniforms,  and  as  we  are  all  Unionists 
about  here  that  ain't  an  easy  job  for  'em  to  manage." 

Every  one  on  the  platform  joined  in  the  conversation, 
asking  which  way  the  fugitive  would  be  likely  to  go, 
whether  there  were  any  cavalry  to  send  after  him,  what 
would  be  done  to  him  if  he  were  captured,  and  other 
questions  of  the  same  kind,  Vincent  joining  in  the  talk.' 
It  was  a  relief  to  him  when  the  train  drew  up,  and  he 
and  Dan  took  their  place  in  it,  traveling,  however,  in 
different  cars.     Once  fairly  away,  Vincent  had  no  fear 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIBGimA.  179 

whatever  of  being  detected,  and  could  travel  where  he 
liked,  for  outside  the  prison  there  were  not  ten  people 
who  knew  his  face  throughout  the  Northern  States.  It 
would  be  difficult  for  him  to  make  his  way  down  into 
Virginia  from  the  North,  as  the  whole  line  of  frontier 
there  was  occupied  by  troops,  and  patrols  were  on  the 
watch  night  and  day  to  prevent  persons  from  going 
through  the  lines.  He  therefore  determined  to  go  west 
to  St.  Louis,  and  from  there  work  his  way  down  through 
Missouri.  After  two  days'  railway  traveling  they  reached 
St.  Louis,  a  city  having  a  large  trade  with  the  South, 
and  containing  many  sympathizers  with  the  Confederate 
cause.  Vincent,  having  now  no  fear  of  detection,  went 
at  once  to  an  hotel,  and  taking  up  the  newspaper,  one  of 
the  first  paragraphs  that  met  his  eye  was  headed : 

"Escape  of  three  Confederate  officers  from  Elmira. 
Great  excitement  was  caused  on  Wednesday  at  Elmira  by 
the  discovery  that  three  Confederate  officers  had,  during 
the  night  effected  their  escape  from  prison.  One  of  the 
bars  of  the  window  of  the  ward  on  the  first  floor  in  which 
they  were,  with  fifteen  other  Confederate  officers,  con- 
fined, had  been  removed;  the  screws  having  been  taken 
out  by  a  large  screw-driver  which  they  left  behind  them. 
They  had  lowered  themselves  to  the  yard,  and  climbed 
oyer  the  wall  by  means  of  a  rope  which  was  found  in  po- 
sition in  the  morning.  The  rest  of  the  prisoners  professed 
an  entire  ignorance  of  the  affair,  and  declare  that  until 
they  found  the  beds  unoccupied  in  the  morning  they 
knew  nothing  of  the  occurrence. 

"This  is  as  it  may  be,  but  it  is  certain  they  must  have 
been  aided  by  traitors  outside  the  prison,  for  the  rope 
hung  loose  on  the  outside  of  the  wall,  and  must  have 
been  held  by  some  one  there  as  they  climbed  it.  The 
inside  end  was  fastened  to  a  stone  seat,  and  they  were 
thus  enabled  to  slide  down  it  on  the  other  side.     Their 


180  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

uniforms  were  found  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  wall,  and 
their  accomplice  had  doubtless  disguises  ready  for  them. 
The  authorities  of  the  prison  are  unable  to  account  for 
the  manner  in  which  the  turn-screw  and  rope  were  passed 
in  to  them,  or  how  they  communicated  with  their  friends 
outside." 

Then  followed  the  personal  description  of  each  of  the 
fugitives,  and  a  request  that  all  loyal  citizens  would  be 
on  the  lookout  for  them,  and  would  at  once  arrest  any 
suspicious  character  unable  to  give  a  satisfactory  account 
of  himself.  As  Vincent  sat  smoking  in  the  hall  of  the 
hotel  he  heard  several  present  discussing  the  escape  of 
the  prisoners. 

"It  does  not  matter  about  them  oneway  or  the  other," 
one  the  speakers  said.  They  seem  to  be  mere  lads,  and 
whether  they  escape  or  not  will  not  make  any  difference 
to  any  one.  The  serious  thin^  is  that  there  must  be 
some  traitors  among  the  prison  officials,  and  that  next 
time  perhaps  two  or  three  generals  may  escape,  and  that 
would  be  a  really  serious  misfortune  " 

"We  need  not  reckon  that  out  at  present,"  another 
smoker  said.  "We  haven't  got  three  of  the  rebel  gen- 
erals yet,  and  as  far  as  things  seem  to  be  going  on,  we 
may  have  to  wait  some  time  before  we  have.  They  are 
pretty  well  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  I  reckon." 

"They  are  good  men,  some  of  them,  I  don't  deny,"  the 
first  speaker  said;  "but  they  might  as  well  give  up  the 
game,  in  the  spring  we  shall  have  an  army  big  enough 
to  eat  them  up." 

"So  I  have  heard  two  or  three  times  before.  Scott 
was  going  to  eat  them  up,  McClellan  was  going  to  eat 
them  up,  then  Pope  was  going  to  make  an  end  of  'em 
altogether.  Now  McClellan  is  having  a  try  again,  but 
somehow  or  other  the  eating  up  hasn't  come  off  yet.  It 
looks  to  me  rather  the  other  way." 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  181 

There  was  an  angry  growl  from  two  or  three  of  those 
sitting  round,  while  others  uttered  a  cordial  "That's  so." 

"It  seems  to  me,  by  the  way  you  put  it,  that  you  don't 
wish  to  see  this  business  come  to  an  end." 

"That's  where  you  are  wrong  now.  I  do  wish  to  see 
it  come  to  an  end.  I  don't  want  to  see  tens  of  thousand 
of  men  losing  their  lives  because  one  portion  of  these 
States  wants  to  ride  roughshod  over  the  other.  The 
sooner  the  North  looks  this  affair  squarely  in  the  face 
and  sees  that  it  has  taken  up  a  bigger  job  than  it  can 
carry  through,  and  agrees  to  let  those  who  wish  to  leave 
it  go  if  they  like,  the  better  for  all  parties.  That's  what 
I  think  about  it." 

"I  don't  call  that  Union  talk,"  the  other  said  angrily. 

"Union  or  not  Union,  I  mean  to  talk  it,  and  I  want  to 
know  who  is  going  to  prevent  me?" 

The  two  men  rose  simultaneously  from  their  chairs,  and 
in  a  second  the  crack  of  two  revolvers  sounded.  As  if 
they  had  only  been  waiting  for  the  signal,  a  score  of 
other  men  leaped  up  and  sprang  at  each  other.  They 
had,  as  the  altercation  grew  hotter,  joined  in  with  ex- 
clamations of  anger  or  approval,  and  Vincent  saw  that 
although  the  Unionists  were  the  majority  the  party  of 
sympathizers  with  the  South  was  a  strong  one.  Having 
neither  arms  nor  inclination  to  join  in  a  broil  of  this  kind 
he  made  his  escape  into  the  street  the  instant  hostilities 
began,  and  hurried  away  from  the  sound  of  shouts,  oaths, 
the  sharp  cracks  of  pistols,  and  the  breaking  of  glass. 
Ten  minutes  later  he  returned.  The  hotel  was  shut  up, 
but  an  angry  mob  were  assembled  round  the  door  shout- 
ing, "Down  with  the  rebels!  down  with  the  Secession- 
ists!" and  were  keeping  up  a  loud  knocking  at  the  door. 
Presently  a  window  upstairs  opened,  and  the  proprietor 
put  out  his  head. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "I  can  assure  you  that  the  per- 


182  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA 

sons  who  were  the  cause  of  this  disturbance  all  left  the 
hotel  by  the  back  way  as  soon  as  the  affair  was  over.  I 
have  sent  for  the  police  commissioner,  and  upon  his  ar- 
rival he  will  be  free  to  search  the  house,  and  to  arrest 
any  one  concerned  in  this  affair." 

The  crowd  were  not  satisfied,  and  renewed  their 
knocking  at  the  door;  but  two  or  three  minutes  later  an 
officer,  with  a  strong  body  of  police,  arrived  on  the  spot. 
In  a  few  words  he  told  the  crowd  to  disperse,  promising 
that  the  parties  concerned  in  the  affair  would  be  taken 
up  and  duly  dealt  with.  He  then  entered  the  house  witb 
four  of  his  men,  leaving  the  rest  to  wait.  Vincent 
entered  with  the  constables,  saying  that  he  was  staying 
at  the  house.  The  fumes  of  gunpowder  were  still  float- 
ing about  the  hall,  three  bodies  were  lying  on  the  floor, 
and  several  men  were  binding  up  their  wounds.  The 
police-officer  inquired  into  the  origin  of  the  broil,  and  all 
present  concurred  in  saying  that  it  arose  from  some  Se- 
cessionists speaking  insultingly  of  the  army  of  the  Union. 

Search  was  then  made  in  the  hotel,  and  it  was  found 
that  eight  persons  were  missing.  One  of  the  killed  was 
a  well-known  citizen  of  the  town;  he  was  the  speaker  on 
the  Union  side  of  the  argument.  The  other  two  were 
strangers,  and  no  one  could  say  which  side  they  espoused. 
All  those  present  declared  that  they  themselves  were 
Union  men,  and  it  was  supposed  that  the  eight  who  were 
missing  were  the  party  who  had  taken  the  other  side  of 
the  question.  The  evidence  of  each  was  taken  down  by 
the  police-officer.  Vincent  was  not  questioned,  as,  hav- 
ing entered  with  the  constables,  it  was  supposed  he  was 
not  present  at  the  affair. 

In  the  morning  Vincent  read  in  the  local  paper  a 
highly  colored  account  of  the  fray.  After  giving  a  large 
number  of  wholly  fictitious  details  of  the  fray,  it  went  on 
to  say:  "The  victims  were  Cyrus  D.  Jenkins,  a  much' 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  183 

esteemed  citizen  and  a  prominent  Unionist;  the  other 
two  were  guests  at  the  hotel;  one  had  registered  as  P.  J. 
Moore  of  Vermont,  the  other  James  Harvey  of  Tennessee. 
Nothing  is  as  yet  known  as  to  the  persons  whose  rooms 
were  unoccupied,  and  who  had  doubtless  made  their 
escape  as  soon  as  the  affray  was  over;  but  the  examina- 
tion of  their  effects,  which  will  be  made  by  the  police  in 
the  morning,  will  doubtless  furnish  a  clew  by  which  they 
will  be  brought  to  justice." 

Having  read  this,  Vincent  looked  for  the  news  as  to 
the  escape  from  Elmira,  being  anxious  to  know  whether 
his  companions  had  been  as  fortunate  as  himself  in  getting 
clear  away.  He  was  startled  by  reading  the  following 
paragraph:  "We  are  enabled  to  state  that  the  police  have 
received  a  letter  stating  that  one  of  the  officers  who 
escaped  from  Elmira  prison  has  adopted  the  disguise  of  a 
minister,  and  is  traveling  through  the  country  with  a 
black  servant.  At  present  the  authorities  are  not  dis- 
posed to  attach  much  credit  to  this  letter,  and  are  in- 
clined to  believed  that  it  has  been  sent  in  order  to  put 
them  on  a  wrong  scent.  However,  a  watch  will  doubtless 
be  kept  by  the  police  throughout  the  country  for  a  per- 
son answering  to  this  description." 

Accustomed  to  rise  early,  Vincent  was  taking  his  break- 
fast almost  alone,  only  two  or  three  of  the  other  guests 
having  made  their  appearance.  He  finished  his  meal 
hastily,  and  went  out  to  Dan,  who  was  lounging  in  front 
of  the  hotel. 

"Dan,  go  upstairs  at  once,  pack  the  bag,  bring  it  down 
and  go  out  with  it  immediately.  I  will  pay  the  bill. 
Don't  stop  to  ask  questions  now." 

Vincent  then  walked  up  to  the  desk  at  the  end  of  the 
hall,  at  which  a  clerk  was  sitting  reading  the  paper. 
Sincerely  hoping  that  the  man's  eye  had  not  fallen  on 
this  paragraph,  he  asked  if  his  account  was  made  oiw. 


284  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

As  he  had  fortunately  mentioned  on  the  preceding  even- 
ing that  ho  saould  be  leaving  in  the  morning,  the  hill 
was  ready;  and  the  clerk,  scarce  looking  up  from  the 
paper,  handed  it  to  him.  Vincent  paid  him  the  amount, 
saying  carelessly,  "I  think  I  have  plenty  of  time  to  catch 
the  train  for  the  east?" 

The  clerk  glanced  at  the  clock. 

"Yes.  it  goes  at  eight,  and  yon  have  twenty  minute&> 
It's  only  five  minutes'  walk  to  the  station." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  185 


CHAPTER  XL 

FUGITIVES. 

On-  leaving  the  hotel  Vincent  walked  a  short  distance, 
and  then  stopped  until  Dan  came  up  to  him. 

"Anyting  de  matter,  sah?" 

"Yes,  Dan.  There  is  a  notice  in  the  paper  that  the 
police  have  obtained  information  that  I  am  traveling  dis- 
guised as  a  minister,  and  have  a  negro  servant  with  me." 

"Who  told  dem  dat?"  Dan  asked  in  surprise. 

"We  can  talk  about  that  presently,  Dan;  the  great 
thing  at  present  is  to  get  away  from  here.  The  train  for 
the  south  starts  at  ten.  Give  me  the  bag,  and  follow  me 
at  a  distance.  I  will  get  you  a  ticket  for  Nashville,  and 
as  you  pass  me  in  the  station  I  will  hand  it  to  you.  It 
must  not  be  noticed  that  we  are  traveling  together.  That 
is  the  only  clew  they  have  got." 

Dan  obeyed  his  instructions.  The  journey  was  a  long 
one.  The  train  was  slow  and  stopped  frequently;  pas- 
sengers got  in  and  out  at  every  station.  The  morning's 
news  from  the  various  points  at  which  the  respective 
forces  were  facing  each  other  was  the  general  topic  of 
conversation,  and  Vincent  was  interested  in  seeing  how 
the  tone  gradually  changed  as  the  passengers  from  St. 
Louis  one  by  one  left  the  train  and  their  places  were 
taken  by  those  of  the  more  southern  districts.  At  first 
the  sentiment  expressed  had  been  violently  Northern, 
and  there  was  no  dissent  from  the  general  chorus  of  hope 
and  expectation  that  the  South  were  on  their  last  legs 


186  WITH  LEE  IJST  VIRGINIA. 

and  that  the  rebellion  would  shortly  be  stamped  out;  but 
gradually,  as  the  train  approached  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see, the  Unionist  opinion,  although  expressed  with  even 
greater  force  and  violence,  was  by  no  means  universal. 
Many  men  read  their  papers  in  silence  and  took  no  part 
whatever  in  the  conversation,  but  Vincent  could  see  from 
the  angry  glances  which  they  shot  at  the  speakers  that 
the  sentiments  uttered  were  distasteful  to  them.  He 
himself  had  scarcely  spoken  during  the  whole  journey. 
He  had  for  some  time  devoted  himself  to  the  newspaper, 
and  had  then  purchased  a  book  from  the  newsboy  who  per- 
ambulated the  cars.  Presently  a  rough-looking  man  who 
had  been  among  the  wildest  and  most  violent  in  his  de- 
nunciation of  the  South  said,  looking  at  Vincent: 

"I  see  by  the  papers  to-day  that  one  of  the  cursed 
rebel  officers  who  gave  them  the  slip  at  Elmira  is  travel- 
ing in  the  disguise  of  a  minister.  I  guess  it's  mighty  un- 
pleasant to  know  that  even  if  you  meet  a  parson  in  a 
train  like  as  nob  he  is  a  rebel  in  disguise.  Now,  mister, 
may  I  ask  where  you  have  come  from  and  where  you  are 
going  to?'5 

"You  may  ask  what  you  like,"  Vincent  said  quietly; 
"but  1  am  certainly  not  going  to  answer  impertinent 
questions." 

A  hum  of  approval  was  heard  from  several  of  the  pas- 
sengers. 

"If  you  hadn't  got  that  black  coat  on,"  the  man  said 
angrily,  "I  would  put  you  off  the  car  in  no  time." 

"Black  coat  or  no  black  coat,"  Vincent  said,  "you  may 
find  it  more  difficult  than  you  think.  My  profession  is  a 
peaceful  one;  but  even  a  peaceful  man,  if  assaulted,  may 
defend  himself.  You  say  it's  unpleasant  to  know  that 
if  you  travel  with  a  man  in  a  black  coat  he  may  be  a 
traitor.  It's  quite  as  unpleasant  to  me  to  know  that  if  I 
travel  with  a  man  in  a  brown  one  he  may  be  a  notorious 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  187 

ruffian,  and  may  as  likely  as  not  have  just  served  his  time 
in  a  penitentiary." 

Two  or  three  of  the  passengers  laughed  loudly.  The 
man,  starting  up,  crossed  the  car  to  where  Vincent  was 
sitting  and  laid  his  hand  roughly  on  his  shoulder. 

"You  have  got  to  get  out!"  he  said.  "No  man  insults 
Jim  Mullens  twice." 

"Take  your  hand  off  my  shoulder/'  Vincent  said 
quietly,  "or  you  will  be  sorry  for  it." 

The  man  shifted  his  hold  to  the  collar  of  Vincent's  coat 
amid  cries  of  shame  from  some  of  the  passengers,  while 
the  others  were  silent,  even  those  of  his  own  party  ob- 
jecting to  an  assault  upon  a  minister.  It  was  only  the 
fact  that  the  fellow  was  a  notorious  local  ruffian  that  pre- 
vented their  expressing  open  disapproval  of  the  act.  As 
the  man  grasped  Vincent's  collar  with  his  right  hand 
Vincent  saw  his  left  go  under  his  coat  toward  the  pocket 
in  the  back  of  the  trousers  where  revolvers  were  always 
carried.  In  an  instant  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  before 
the  man,  who  was  taken  by  surprise  at  the  suddenness  of 
the  movement,  could  steady  himself,  he  struck  him  a 
tremendous  blow  between  the  eyes,  and  at  the  same 
moment,  springing  at  his  throat,  threw  him  backward  on 
to  the  floor  of  the  carriage.  As  he  fell  the  man  drew  out 
his  revolver,  but  Vincent  grasped  his  arm  and  with  a 
sharp  twist  wrenched  the  revolver  from  his  grasp,  and 
leaping  up,  threw  it  out  of  the  open  window.  The 
ruffian  rose  to  his  feet,  for  a  moment  half-dazed  by  the 
violence  with  which  he  had  fallen,  and  poured  out  a 
string  of  imprecations  upon  Vincent.  The  latter  stood 
calmly  awaiting  a  fresh  attack.  For  a  moment  the  ruffian 
hesitated,  and  then,  goaded  to  fury  by  the  taunting 
laughter  of  the  lookers-on,  was  about  to  spring  upon  him 
when  he  was  seized  by  two  or  three  of  the  passengers. 

"I  reckon  you  have  made  a  fool  enough  of  yourself  al- 


188  WITR  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

ready/'  one  of  them  said;  "and  we  are  not  going  to  see 
a  minister  ill-treated,  not  if  we  know  it." 

"You  need  not  hold  him,"  Vincent  said.  "It  is  not 
because  one  wears  a  black  coat  and  is  adverse  to  fighting 
that  one  is  not  able  to  defend  one's  self.  We  all  learn 
the  same  things  at  college  whether  we  are  going  into  the 
church  or  any  other  profession.  You  can  let  him  alone 
if  he  really  wants  any  more,  which  I  do  not  believe.  I 
should  be  ashamed  of  myself  if  I  could  not  punish  a  ruffian 
of  his  kind." 

"Let  me  get  at  him!"  yelled  Mullens;  and  the  men 
who  held  him,  taking  Vincent  at  his  word,  released  him. 
He  rushed  forward,  but  was  received  with  another  tre- 
mendous blow  on  the  mouth.  He  paused  a  moment  in 
his  rush,  and  Vincent,  springing  forward,  administered 
another  blow  upon  the  same  spot,  knocking  him  off  his 
legs  on  to  the  floor.  On  getting  up  he  gave  no  sign  of  a 
desire  to  renew  the  conflict.  His  lips  were  badly  cut  and 
the  blood  was  streaming  from  his  mouth,  and  he  looked 
at  Vincent  with  an  air  of  absolute  bewilderment.  The 
latter,  seeing  that  the  conflict  was  over,  quietly  resumed 
his  seat;  while  several  of  the  passengers  came  up  to  him, 
and,  shaking  him  warmly  by  the  hand,  congratulated 
him  upon  having  punished  his  assailant. 

"I  wish  we  had  a  few  more  ministers  of  your  sort  down 
this  way,"  one  said.  "That's  the  sort  of  preaching  fel- 
lows like  this  understand.  It  was  well  you  got  his  six- 
shooter  out  of  his  hand,  for  he  would  have  used  it  as  sure 
as  fate.  He  ought  to  have  been  lynched  long  ago,  but 
since  the  troubles  began  these  fellows  have  had  all  their 
own  way.  But  look  to  yourself  when  he  gets  out;  he  be- 
longs to  a  band  who  call  themselves  Unionists,  but  who 
are  nothing  but  plunderers  and  robbers.  If  you  take  my 
advice,  when  you  get  to  the  end  of  your  journey  you  will 
not  leave  the  station,  but  take  a  ticket  straight  back 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  189 

north.  I  tell  you  your  life  won't  be  safe  five  minutes 
when  you  once  get  outside  the  town.  They  daren't  do 
anything  there,  for  though  folks  have  had  to  put  up  with 
a  good  deal  they  wouldn't  stand  the  shooting  of  a  min- 
ister; still,  outside  the  town  I  would  not  answer  for  your 
life  for  an  hour." 

"I  have  my  duties  to  perform,"  Yincent  said,  "and  I 
shall  certainly  carry  them  through;  but  I  am  obliged  to 
you  for  your  advice.  I  can  quite  understand  that  ruf- 
fian," and  he  looked  at  Mullens,  who,  with  his  handker- 
chief to  his  mouth,  was  sitting  alone  in  a  corner — for  the 
rest  had  all  drawn  away  from  him  in  disgust — and  glaring 
ferociously  at  him,  "will  revenge  himself  if  he  has  the 
opportunity.  However,  as  far  as  possible  I  shall  be  on 
my  guard." 

"At  any  rate,"  the  man  said,  "I  should  advise  you 
when  you  get  to  Nashville  to  charge  him  with  assault. 
"We  can  all  testify  that  he  laid  hands  on  you  first.  That 
way  he  will  get  locked  up  for  some  days  anyhow,  and  you 
can  go  away  about  your  business;,  and  he  won't  know 
where  to  find  you  when  he  gets  out." 

"Thank  you — that  would  be  a  very  good  plan;  but  I 
might  lose  a  day  or  two  in  having  to  appear  against  him; 
I  am  pressed  for  time  and  have  some  important  business 
on  hand,  and  I  have  no  doubt  I  shall  be  able  to  throw  him 
off  my  track,  finish  my  business,  and  be  off  again  before 
he  can  come  across  me." 

"Well,  I  hope  no  harm  will  come  of  it,"  the  other  said. 
"I  like  you,  and  I  never  saw  any  one  hit  so  quickly  and 
so  hard.  It's  a  downright  pity  you  are  a  preacher.  My 
name's  John  Morrison,  and  my  farm  is  ten  miles  from 
Nashville,  on  the  Cumberland  River.  If  you  should  be 
going  in  that  direction  I  should  be  right  glad  if  you 
would  drop  in  on  me." 

The  real  reason  that  decided  Yincent  against  following 


190  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

the  advice  to  give  his  assailant  in  charge  was  that  he 
feared  he  himself  might  be  questioned  as  to  the  object 
of  his  journey  and  his  destination.  The  fellow  would 
not  improbably  say  that  he  believed  he  was  the  Confed- 
erate' officer  who  was  trying  to  escape  in  the  disguise  of  a 
clergyman  and  that  he  had  therefore  tried  to  arrest  him. 
He  could  of  course  give  no  grounds  for  the  accusation, 
still  questions  might  be  asked  which  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  answer;  and,  however  plausible  a  story  he 
might  invent,  the  lawyer  whom  the  fellow  would  doubt- 
less employ  to  defend  him  might  suggest  that  the  truth 
of  his  statements  might  be  easily  tested  by  the  dispatch 
of  a  telegram,  in  which  case  he  would  be  placed  in  a  most 
awkward  situation.  It  was  better  to  run  the  risk  of 
trouble  with  the  fellow  and  his  gang  than  to  do  anything 
which  might  lead  to  inquiries  as  to  his  identity. 

When  the  train  reached  Nashville,  Vincent  proceeded 
to  an  hotel.  It  was  already  late  in  the  afternoon,  for  the 
journey  had  occupied  more  than  thirty  hours.  As  soon 
as  it  was  dark  he  went  out  again  and  joined  Dan,  whom 
he  had  ordered  to  follow  him  at  a  distance  and  to  be  at 
the  corner  of  the  first  turning  to  the  right  of  the  hotel  as 
soon  as  it  became  dark.  Dan  was  at  the  point  agreed 
upon,  and  he  followed  Vincent  until  the  latter  stopped 
in  a  quiet  and  badly  lighted  street. 

"Things  are  going  badly,  Dan.  I  had  a  row  with  a 
ruffian  in  the  train,  and  he  has  got  friends  here,  and  this 
will  add  greatly  to  our  danger  in  getting  to  our  lines.  I 
must  get  another  disguise.     What  money  have  you  left?" 

"Not  a  cent,  sah.  I  had  only  a  five-cent  piece  left 
when  we  left  St.  Louis,  and  I  spent  him  on  bread  on  de 
journey." 

"That  is  bad,  Dan.  I  did  not  think  your  stock  was  so 
nearly  expended." 

"I  had  to  keep  myself,  sah,  and  to  pay  for  de  railroad, 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  191 

and  to  buy  dem  tree  suits  of  clothes,  aud  to  make  de 
nigger  I  lodged  with  a  present  to  keep  him  mouth  shut." 

"Oh,  I  know  you  have  had  lots  of  expenses,  Dan,  and 
I  am  sure  that  you  have  not  wasted  your  money;  but  I 
had  not  thought  about  it.  I  have  only  got  ten  dollars 
left,  and  we  may  have  a  hundred  aud  fifty  miles  to  travel 
before  we  are  safe.  Anyhow,  you  must  get  another  dis- 
guise, and  trust  to  luck  for  the  rest.  We  have  tramped 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  before  now  without  having  any- 
thing beyond  what  we  could  pick  up  on  the  road.  Here's 
the  money,  (let  a  rough  suit  of  workingman's  clothes, 
and  join  me  here  again  in  an  hour's  time.  Let  us  find 
out  the  name  of  the  street  before  we  separate,  for  we 
may  miss  our  way  and  not  be  able  to  meet  again." 

Passing  up  into  the  busy  streets,  Vincent  presently 
stopped  and  purchased  a  paper  of  a  newsboy  who  was 
running  along  shouting,  "News  from  the  war.  Defeat 
of  the  rebels.  Fight  in  a  railway  car  near  Nashville;  a 
minister  punishes  a  border  ruffian." 

"Confound  those  newspaper  fellows!"  Vincent  mut- 
tered to  himself  as  he  walked  away.  "They  pick  up 
every  scrap  of  news.  I  suppose  a  reporter  got  hold  of 
some  one  who  was  in  the  car."  Turning  down  a  quiet 
street,  he  opened  the  paper  and  by  the  light  of  the  lamp 
read  a  graphic  and  minute  account  of  the  struggle  in  the 
train. 

"I  won't  go  back  to  the  hotel,"  he  said  to  himself. 
"I  shall  be  having  reporters  to  interview  me.  I  shall  be 
expected  to  give  them  a  history  of  my  whole  life;  where 
I  was  born,  and  where  I  went  to  school,  and  whether  I 
prefer  beef  to  mutton,  and  whether  I  drink  beer,  and  a 
thousand  other  things.  No;  the  sooner  I  am  away  the 
better.  As  to  the  hotel,  I  have  only  had  one  meal,  and 
they  have  got  the  bag  with  what  clothes  there  are;  that 
will  pay  them  well."  Accordingly  when  he  rejoined  Dan 
he  told  him  that  they  would  start  at  once. 


192  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"It  is  the  best  way,  anyhow, "  he  said.  "To-morrow, 
no  doubt,  the  fellow  I  had  the  row  with  will  be  watching 
the  hotel  to  see  which  way  I  go  off,  but  after  once  seeing 
me  go  to  the  hotel  he  will  not  guess  that  I  shall  be  start- 
ing tliis  evening.     What  have  you  got  left,  Dan?" 

"I  got  two  dollars,  sah." 

"That  makes  us  quite  rich  men.  We  will  stop  at  the 
first  shop  we  come  to  and  lay  in  a  stock  of  bread  and  a 
pound  or  two  of  ham." 

"And  a  bottle  of  rum,  sah.  Bery  wet  and  cold  sleep- 
ing out  of  doors  now,  sah.  Want  a  little  comfort  any- 
how." 

"Very  well,  Dan;  I  think  we  can  afford  that." 

"Get  one  for  half  a  dollar,  massa.  Could  not  lay  out 
half  a  dollar  better." 

Half  an  hour  later  they  had  left  Nashville  behind 
them,  and  were  tramping  along  the  road  toward  the  east, 
Dan  carrying  a  bundle  in  which  the  provisions  were 
wrapped,  and  the  neck  of  the  bottle  of  rum  sticking  out 
of  his  pocket.  As  soon  as  they  were  well  in  the  country 
Vincent  changed  his  clothes  for  those  Dan  had  just 
bought  him,  and  making  the  others  up  into  a  bundle  con- 
tinued his  way. 

"Why  you  not  leave  dem  black  clothes  behind,  sah? 
What  good  take  dem  wid  you?" 

"I  am  not  going  to  carry  them  far,  Dan.  The  first 
wood  or  thick  clump  of  bushes  we  come  to  I  shall  hide 
them  away;  but  if  you  were  to  leave  them  here  they 
would  be  found  the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  and  per- 
haps be  carried  into  the  town  and  handed  over  to  the 
police,  and  they  might  put  that  and  the  fact  of  my  not 
having  returned  to  the  hotel — which  is  sure  to  be  talked 
about — together,  and  come  to  the  conclusion  that  either 
Mullens  was  right  and  that  I  was  an  escaped  Confederate, 
or  that  I  had  been  murdered  by  Mullens.     In  either  case 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  193 

they  might  get  up  a  search,  and  perhaps  send  telegrams 
to  the  troops  in  the  towns  beyond  us.  Anyhow,  it's  best 
the  clothes  should  not  be  found." 

All  night  they  tramped  along,  pausing  only  for  half  an 
hour  about  midnight,  when  Dan  suggested  that  as  he  had 
only  had  some  bread  to  eat — and  not  too  much  of  that — 
during  the  last  forty-eight  hours,  he  thought  that  he 
could  do  with  some  supper.  Accordingly  the  bundle  was 
opened,  and  they  sat  down  and  partook  of  a  hearty  meal. 
Dan  had  wisely  taken  the  precaution  of  having  the  cork 
drawn  from  the  bottle  when  he  bought  it,  replacing  it  so 
that  it  could  be  easily  extracted  when  required,  and  Vin- 
cent acknowledged  that  the  spirit  was  a  not  unwelcome 
addition  to  the  meal.  When  morning  broke  they  had 
reached  Duck's  Kiver,  a  broad  stream  crossing  the  road. 

Here  they  drew  aside  into  a  thick  grove,  and  deter- 
mined to  get  a  few  hours'  sleep  before  proceeding.  It 
was  nearly  midday  before  they  woke  and  proceeded  to  the 
edge  of  the  trees.     Vincent  reconnoitered  the  position. 

"It  is  just  as  well  we  did  not  try  to  cross,  Dan.  I  see 
the  tents  of  at  least  a  regiment  on  the  other  bank.  No 
doubt  they  are  stationed  there  to  guard  the  road  and  rail- 
way bridge.  This  part  of  the  country  is  pretty  equally 
divided  in  opinion,  though  more  of  the  people  are  for  the 
South  than  for  the  North;  but  I  know  there  are  guerrilla 
parties  on  bcth  sides  moving  about,  and  if  a  Confederate 
band  was  to  pounce  down  on  these  bridges  and  destroy 
them  it  would  cut  the  communication  with  their  army  in 
front,  and  put  them  in  a  very  ugly  position  if  they  were 
defeated.  No  doubt  that's  why  they  have  stationed  that 
regiment  there.  Anyhow,  it  makes  it  awkward  for  us. 
"We  should  be  sure  to  be  questioned  where  we  are  going, 
and  as  I  know  nothing  whatever  of  the  geography  of  the 
place  we  should  find  it  very  difficult  to  satisfy  them.  We 
must  cross  the  river  somewhere  else.     There  are  sure  to 


194  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

be  some  boats  somewhere  along  the  banks;  at  any  rate, 
the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  move  further  away  from  the 
road." 

They  walked  for  two  or  three  miles  across  the  country. 
The  fields  for  the  most  part  were  deserted,  and  although 
here  and  there  they  saw  cultivated  patches,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  most  of  the  inhabitants  had  quitted  that  part 
of  the  country,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  almost  con- 
tinued fighting  from  the  commencement  of  the  war;  the 
sufferings  of  the  inhabitants  being  greatly  heightened  by 
the  bands  of  marauders  who  moved  about  plundering  and 
destroying  under  the  pretense  of  punishing  those  whom 
they  considered  hostile  to  the  cause  in  whose  favor — nom- 
inally, at  least — they  had  enrolled  themselves.  The  sight 
of  ruined  farms  and  burned  houses  roused  Vincent's  in- 
dignation; for  in  Virginia  private  property  had,  up  to 
the  time  of  Pope's  assuming  command  of  the  army,  been 
respected,  and  this  phase  of  civil  war  was  new  and  very 
painful  to  him. 

"It  would  be  a  good  thing,"  he  said  to  Dan,  "if  the 
generals  on  both  sides  in  this  district  would  agree  to  a 
month's  truce,  and  join  each  other  in  hunting  down  and 
hanging  these  marauding  scoundrels.  On  our  side  Mosby 
and  a  few  other  leaders  of  bands  composed  almost  entirely 
of  gentlemen,  have  never  been  accused  of  practices  of 
this  kind;  but,  with  these  exceptions,  there  is  little  to 
choose  between  them." 

After  walking  for  four  or  five  miles  they  again  sat  down 
till  evening,  and  then  going  down  to  the  river  endeavored 
to  find  a  boat  by  which  they  could  cross,  but  to  their  dis- 
appointment no  craft  of  any  kind  was  visible,  although 
in  many  places  there  were  stages  by  the  riverside,  evi- 
dently used  by  farmers  for  unloading  their  produce  into 
boats.  Vincent  concluded  at  last  that  at  some  period  of 
the  struggle  all  the  boats  must  have  been  collected  and 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIMGIiil^  195 

either  sunk  or  carried  away  by  one  of  the  parties  to  pre- 
vent the  other  crossing  the  river. 

Hitherto  they  had  carefully  avoided  all  the  farmhouses 
that  appeared  to  be  inhabited;  but  Vincent  now  deter- 
mined to  approach  one  of  them  and-  endeavor  to  gain 
some  information  as  to  the  distance  from  the  next  bridge, 
and  whether  it  was  guarded  by  troops,  and  to  find  out  if 
possible  the  position  in  which  the  Northern  forces  in 
Tennessee  were  at  present  posted — all  of  which  points  he 
was  at  present  ignorant  of.  He  passed  two  or  three  large 
farmhouses  without  entering,  for  although  the  greater 
part  of  the  male  population  were  away  with  one  or  other 
of  the  armies,  he  might  still  find  two  or  three  hands  in 
such  buildings.  Besides,  it  was  now  late,  and  whatever 
the  politics  of  the  inmates  they  would  be  suspicious  of 
such  late  arrivals,  and  would  probably  altogether  refuse 
them  admittance.  Accordingly  another  night  was  spent 
in  the  wood. 

The  next  morning,  after  walking  a  mile  or  two,  they 
saw  a  house  at  which  Vincent  determined  to  try  their 
fortune.  It  was  small,  but  seemed  to  have  belonged  to 
people  above  the  class  of  farmer.  It  stood  in  a  little 
plantation,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  veranda.  Most  of 
the  blinds  were  down,  and  Vincent  judged  that  the  in- 
mates could  not  be  numerous. 

"You  remain  here,  Dan,  and  I  will  go  and  knock  at 
the  door.  It  is  better  that  we  should  not  be  seen  to- 
gether." Vincent  accordingly  went  forward  and  knocked 
at  the  door.     An  old  negress  opened  it. 

"We  have  nothing  for  tramps,"  she  said.  "De  house 
am  pretty  well  cleared  out  ob  eberyting."  She  was  about 
to  shut  the  door  when  Vincent  put  his  foot  forward  and 
prevented  it  closing.  "Massa  Charles,"  the  negress 
called  out,  "bring  yo'  shot-gun  quick j  here  am  tief  want 
to  break  into  de  house." 


196  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  am  neither  a  thief  nor  a  tramp,"  Vincent  said;  "and 
I  do  not  want  anything,  except  that  I  should  be  glad  to 
buy  a  loaf  of  bread  if  you  have  one  that  you  could  spare. 
I  have  lost  my  way,  and  I  want  to  ask  directions." 

"Dat  am  pretty  likely  story,"  the  old  woman  said. 
"Bring  up  dat  shot-gun  quick,  Massa  Charles." 

"What  is  it,  Ohloe?"  another  female  voice  asked. 

"Here  am  a  man  pretend  he  hab  lost  his  way  and  wants 
to  buy  a  loaf.  You  stand  back,  Miss  Lucy,  and  let  your 
broder  shoot  de  villain  dead." 

"I  can  assure  you  that  I  am  not  a  robber,  madam," 
Vincent  said  through  the  partly  opened  door.  "I  am 
alone,  and  only  beg  some  information,  which  I  doubt  not 
you  can  give  me." 

"Open  the  door,  Chloe,"  the  second  voice  said  inside; 
"that  is  not  the  voice  of  a  robber." 

The  old  woman  reluctantly  obeyed  the  order  and  opened 
the  door,  and  Vincent  saw  in  the  passage  a  young  girl  of 
some  sixteen  years  old.     He  took  off  his  hat. 

"I  am  very  sorry  to  disturb  you,"  he  said;  "but  I  am 
an  entire  stranger  here,  and  am  most  desirous  of  crossing 
the  river,  but  can  find  no  boat  with  which  to  do  so." 

"Why  did  you  not  cross  by  the  bridge?"  the  girl  asked. 
"How  did  you  miss  the  straight  road?" 

"Frankly,  because  there  were  Northern  troops  there," 
Vincent  said,  "and  I  wish  to  avoid  them  if  possible." 

"You  are  a  Confederate?"  the  girl  asked,  when  the  old 
negress  interrupted  her: 

"'Hush!  Miss  Lucy,  don't  you  talk  about  dem  tings; 
der  plenty  of  mischief  done  already.  What  hab  you  to 
do  wid  one  side  or  de  oder?" 

The  girl  paid  no  attention  to  her  words,  but  stood  await- 
ing Vincent's  answer.  He  did  not  hesitate.  There  was 
something  in  her  face  that  told  him  that,  friend  or  foe, 
she  was  not  likely  to  betray  a  fugitive,  and  he  answered: 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  19? 

"I  am  a  Confederate  officer,  madam.  I  have  made  my 
escape  from  Elmira  prison,  and  am  trying  to  find  my  way 
back  into  our  lines." 

"Come  in,  sir/'  the  girl  said,  holding  out  her  hand. 
"We  are  Secessionists,  heart  and  soul.  My  father  and 
my  brother  are  with  our  troops — that  is,  if  they  are  both 
alive.  I  have  little  to  offer  you,  for  the  Yankee  bands 
have  been  here  several  times,  have  driven  off  our  cattle, 
emptied  our  barns,  and  even  robbed  our  hen-nests,  and 
taken  everything  in  the  house  they  thought  worth  carry- 
ing away.  But  whatever  there  is,  sir,  you  are  heartily 
welcome  to.  I  had  a  paper  yesterday — it  is  not  often  I 
get  one — and  I  saw  there  that  three  of  our  officers  had 
escaped  from  Elmira.     Are  you  one  of  them?"  m 

"Yes,  madam.     I  am  Lieutenant  Wingfield." 

"Ah!  then  you  are  in  the  cavalry.  You  have  fought 
under  Stuart,"  the  girl  said.  "The  paper  said  so.  Oh, 
how  I  wish  we  had  Stuart  and  Stonewall  Jackson  on  this 
side!  we  should  soon  drive  the  Yankees  out  of  Ten- 
nessee." 

"They  would  try  to,  anyhow,"  Vincent  said,  smiling, 
"and  if  it  were  possible  they  would  assuredly  do  it.  I 
was  in  Ashley's  horse  with  the  Stonewall  division  through 
the  first  campaign  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and  up  to 
Bull  Eun,  and  after  that  under  Stuart.  But  is  not  your 
brother  here?  your  servant  called  to  him." 

"There  is  no  one  here  but  ourselves,"  the  girl  replied. 
"That  was  a  fiction  of  Chloe's,  and  it  has  succeeded 
sometimes  when  we  have  had  rough  visitors.  And  now 
what  can  I  do  for  you,  sir?  You  said  you  wanted  to  buy 
a  loaf  of  bread,  and  therefore,  I  suppose,  you  are  hungry. 
Chloe,  put  the  bacon  and  bread  on  the  table,  and  make 
some  coffee.  I  am  afraid  that  is  all  we  can  do,  sir,  but 
such  as  it  is  you  are  heartily  welcome  to  it." 

"I  thank  you  greatly,"  Vincent  replied,  "and  will,  if 


198  WITH  LEE  IN  VIBGINIA. 

you  will  allow  me,  take  half  my  breakfast  out  to  my  boy 
who  is  waiting  over  there." 

"Why  did  you  not  bring  him  in?"  the  girl  asked.  "Of 
course  he  will  be  welcome  too." 

"I  did  not  bring  him  in  before  because  two  men  in 
these  days  are  likely  to  alarm  a  lonely  household;  and  I 
would  rather  not  bring  him  in  now,  because,  if  by  any 
possibility  the  searchers,  who  are  no  doubt  after  me, 
should  call  and  ask  you  whether  two  men,  one  a  white  and 
the  other  a  negro,  had  been  here,  you  could  answer  no." 

"But  they  cannot  be  troubling  much  about  prisoners," 
the  girl  said.  "Why,  in  the  fighting  here  and  in  Mis- 
souri they  have  taken  many  thousands  of  prisoners,  and 
you  have  taken  still  more  of  them  in  Virginia;  surely 
they  cannot  trouble  themselves  much  about  one  getting 
away." 

"I  am  not  afraid  of  a  search  of  that  kind,"  Vincent 
said;  "but,  unfortunately,  on  my  way  down  I  had  a  row 
in  the  train  with  a  ruffian  named  Mullens,  who  is,  I  un- 
derstand, connected  with  one  of  these  bands  of  brigands, 
and  I  feel  sure  that  he  will  hunt  me  down  if  he  can." 

The  girl  turned  pale. 

"Oh!"  she  said,  "I  saw  that  in  the  paper  too,  but  it 
said  that  it  was  a  minister.  And  it  was  you  who  beat 
that  man  and  threw  his  revolver  out  of  the  window?  Oh, 
then,  you  are  in  danger  indeed,  sir.  He  is  one  of  the 
worst  ruffians  in  the  State,  and  is  the  leader  of  the  party 
who  stripped  this  house  and  threatened  to  burn  it  to  the 
ground.  Luckily  I  was  not  at  home,  having  gone  away 
to  spend  the  night  with  a  neighbor.  His  baud  have  com- 
mitted murders  all  over  the  country,  hanging  up  defense- 
less people  on  pretense  that  they  were  Secessionists.  They 
will  show  you  no  mercy  if  they  catch  you." 

"No.  I  should  not  expect  any  great  mercy  if  I  fell 
into  their  hands,  Miss  Lucy.  I  don't  know  your  other 
name." 


WITH  LEE  LW  VIRGINIA.  199 

"My  name  is  Kingston.  I  ought  to  have  introduced 
myself  to  you  at  once." 

"Now  you  understand,  Miss  Kingston,  how  anxious  I 
am  to  get  across  the  river,  and  that  brings  me  to  the  ques- 
tion of  the  information  I  want  you  to  give  me.  How  far 
is  it  from  the  next  bridge  on  the  south,  and  are  there  any 
Federal  troops  there?" 

"It  is  about  seven  miles  to  the  bridge  at  Williamsport, 
we  are  just  halfway  between  that  and  the  railway  bridge 
at  Columbus.     Yes,  there  are  certainly  troops  there." 

"Then  I  see  no  way  for  it  but  to  make  a  small  raft  to 
carry  us  across,  Miss  Kingston.  I  am  a  good  swimmer, 
but  the  river  is  full  and  of  considerable  width;  still,  I 
think  I  can  get  across.  But  my  boy  cannot  swim  a 
stroke." 

"I  know  where  there  is  a  boat  hid  in  the  wood  near  the 
river,"  the  girl  said.  "It  belongs  to  a  neighbor  of  ours, 
and  when  the  Yankees  seized  the  boats  he  had  his  hauled 
up  and  hidden  in  the  woods.  He  was  a  Southerner, 
heart  and  soul,  and  thought  that  he  might  be  able  some- 
times to  take  useful  information  across  the  river  to  our 
people;  but  a  few  weeks  afterward  his  house  was  attacked 
by  one  of  these  bands — it  was  always  said  it  was  that  of 
Mullens — and  he  was  killed  defending  it  to  the  last.  He 
killed  several  of  the  band  before  he  fell,  and  they  were 
so  enraged  that  after  plundering  it  they  set  it  on  fire  and 
fastened  the  door,  and  his  wife  and  two  maid-servants 
were  burned  to  death." 

"I  wish  instead  of  throwing  his  pistol  out  of  the  win- 
dow I  had  blown  his  brains  out  with  it,"  Vincent  saidj 
"and  I  would  have  done  so  if  I  had  known  what  sort  oi 
fellow  he  was.  However,  as  to  the  boat,  can  you  give  me 
instructions  where  to  find  it,  and  is  it  light  enough  for 
two  men  to  carry?" 

"Not  to  carry,  perhaps,  but  to  push  along.     It  is  a 


200  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

light  boat  he  had  for  pleasure.  He  had  a  large  one,  but 
that  was  carried  away  with  the  others.  I  cannot  give 
you  directions,  but  I  can  lead  you  to  the  place." 

"I  should  not  like  you  to  do  that/'  Vincent  said. 
"We  might  be  caught,  and  your  share  in  the  affair  might 
be  suspected."' 

"Oh!  there  is  no  fear  of  that,"  the  gin  said;  "besides 
I  am  not  afraid  of  danger." 

"I  don't  think  it  is  right,  Miss  Kingston,  for  a  young 
lady  like  you  to  be  living  here  alone  with  an  old  servant 
in  such  times  as  these.  You  ought  to  go  into  a  town 
until  it's  all  over." 

"I  have  no  one  to  go  to,"  the  girl  said  simply.  "My 
father  bought  this  place  and  moved  here  from  Georgia 
only  six  years  ago,  and  all  my  friends  are  in  that  State. 
Except  our  neighbors  round  here  I  do  not  know  a  soul  in 
Tennessee.  Besides,  what  can  I  do  in  a  town?  We  can 
manage  here,  because  we  have  a  few  fowls,  and  some  of 
our  neighbors  last  spring  plowed  an  acre  or  two  of  ground 
and  planted  corn  for  us,  and  I  have  a  little  money  left 
for  buying  other  things;  but  it  would  not  last  us  a  month 
if  we  went  into  a  town.  No,  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
stay  here  until  you  drive  the  Yankees  back.  I  will  will- 
ingly take  you  down  to  the  boat  to-night.  Chloe  can 
come  with  us  and  keep  me  company  on  the  way  back. 
Of  course  it  would  not  be  safe  to  cross  in  the  daytime." 

"I  thank  you  greatly,  Miss  Kingston,  and  chall  alwayj 
remember  your  kindness.  Now,  when  I  finish  my  meal 
I  will  go  out  and  join  my  boy,  and  will  come  for  you 
at  eight  o'clock;  it  will  be  quite  dark  then.  ' 

"Why  should  you  not  stay  here  till  then,  Mr.  Wing- 
field?  it  is  very  unlikely  that  any  one  will  come  along." 

"It  is  unlikely,  but  it  is  quite  possib's,"  Vincent  re- 
plied, "and  were  I  caught  here  by  Mullens,  the  conse- 
quence would  be  very  serious  to  you  as  well  as  to  myself. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  201 

No,  I  could  not  think  of  doing  that.  I  will  go  out,  and 
come  back  at  eight  o'clock.  I  shall  not  he  far  away;  but 
if  any  one  should  come  and  inquire,  you  can  honestly  say 
that  you  do  not  know  where  I  am." 

"I  have  two  revolvers  here,  sir;  in  fact  I  have  three. 
I  always  keep  one  loaded,  for  there  is  never  any  saying 
whether  it  may  not  be  wanted;  the  other  two  I  picked  up 
last  spring.  There  was  a  fight  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  here  and  after  it  was  over  and  they  had  moved 
away,  for  the  Confederates  won  that  time  and  chased 
them  back  toward  Nashville,  I  went  out  with  Chloe  with 
some  water  and  bandages  to  see  if  we  could  do  anything 
for  the  wounded.  We  were  at  work  there  till  evening, 
and  I  think  we  did  some  good.  As  we  were  coming  back 
I  saw  something  in  a  low  bush,  and  going  there  found  a 
Yankee  officer  and  his  horse  both  lying  dead;  they  had 
been  killed  by  a  shell,  I  should  think.  Stooping  over  to 
see  if  he  was  quite  dead  I  saw  a  revolver  in  his  belt  and 
another  in  the  holster  of  his  saddle,  so  I  took  them  out 
and  brought  them  home,  thinking  I  might  give  them  to 
some  of  our  men,  for  we  were  then,  as  we  have  always 
been,  very  short  of  arms;  but  I  never  had  an  opportunity 
of  giving  them  away,  and  I  am  very  glad  now  that  I 
have  not.  Here  they  are,  sir,  and  two  packets  of  cart- 
ridges, for  they  are  of  the  same  size  as  those  of  the  pistol 
my  father  gave  me  when  he  went  away.  You  are  heartily 
welcome  to  them." 

"Thank  you  extremely,"  Vincent  said,  as  he  took  the 
pistols  and  placed  the  packets  of  ammunition  in  his 
pocket.  "We  cut  two  heavy  sticks  the  night  we  left 
Nashville  so  as  to  be  able  to  make  something  of  a  fight; 
but  with  these  weapons  we  shall  feel  a  match  for  any 
small  parties  we  may  meet.  Then  at  eight  o'clock  I  will 
come  back  again." 

"I  shall  be  ready,"  the  girl  said;  "but  I  wish  you 


202  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

would  have  stopped,  there  are  so  many  things  I  want  to 
ask  you  about,  and  these  Yankee  papers,  which  are  all 
we  see  now,  are  full  of  lies." 

"They  exaggerate  their  successes  and  to  some  extent 
conceal  their  defeats,"  Vincent  said;  "but  I  do  not  think 
it  is  the  fault  of  the  newspapers,  whose  correspondents 
do  seem  to  me  to  try  and  tell  the  truth  to  their  readers, 
but  of  the  official  dispatches  of  the  generals.  The  news- 
papers tone  matters  down,  no  doubt,  because  they  con- 
sider it  necessary  to  keep  up  the  public  spirit;  but  at 
times  they  speak  out  pretty  strongly  too.  I  am  quite  as 
sorry  to  leave  as  you  can  be  that  I  should  go,  Miss  Kings- 
ton, but  I  am  quite  sure  that  it  is  very  much  the  wisest 
thing  for  me  to  do.  By  the  way,  if  I  should  not  be  here 
by  half-past  eight  I  shall  not  come  at  all,  and  you  will 
know  that  something  has  occurred  to  alter  our  plans.  I 
trust  there  is  no  chance  of  anything  doing  so,  but  it  is  as 
well  to  arrange  so  that  you  should  not  sit  up  expecting 
me.  Should  I  not  come  back  you  will  know  that  I  shall 
be  always  grateful  to  you  for  your  kindness,  and  that 
when  this  war  is  over,  if  I  am  alive,  I  will  come  back  and 
thank  you  personally." 

"Good-by  till  this  evening!"  the  girl  said.  "I  will 
not  even  let  myself  think  that  anything  can  occur  to  pre- 
vent your  return." 

"Golly,  Massa  Vincent,  what  a  time  you  hab  been!" 
Dan  said  when  Vincent  rejoined  him.  "Dis  child  began 
to  tink  dat  somenng  had  gone  wrong,  and  was  going  in 
anoder  five  minutes  to  knock  at  de  door  to  ask  what  dey 
had  done  to  you." 

"It  is  all  right,  Dan,  I  have  had  breakfast,  and  have 
brought  some  for  you;  here  is  some  bread  and  bacon  and 
a  bottle  of  coffee." 

"Dat  good,  massa;  my  teeth  go  chatter  chatter  wid 
sleeping  in  dsse  damp  woods;  dat  coffee  do  me  good,  sah. 
After  dat  I  shall  feel  fit  for  any  ting." 


WITH  LEE  IW  VIRGINIA.  203 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   BUSHWHACKERS. 

"By  the  way,  Dan/'  Vincent  said  when  the  negrs 
had  finished  his  meal,  "we  have  not  talked  over  that 
matter  of  my  clothes.  I  can't  imagine  how  that  letter 
saying  that  one  of  us  was  disguised  as  a  minister  and 
would  have  a  negro  servant  came  to  be  written.  Did  you 
ever  tell  the  people  you  lodged  with  anything  about  the 
disguise?" 

"No,  sah,  neber  said  one  word  to  dem  about  it;  dey 
know  nothing  whatsoeber.  De  way  me  do  wid  your 
letter  was  dis.  Me  go  outside  town  and  wait  for  long 
time.  At  last  saw  black  fellow  coming  along.  Me  say  to 
him,  'Can  you  read?'  and  he  said  as  he  could.  I  said  'I 
got  a  letter,  I  want  to  read  him,  I  gib  you  a  quarter  to 
read  him  to  me;  so  he  said  yes,  and  he  read  de  letter. 
He  a  long  time  of  making  it  out,  because  he  read  print 
but  not  read  writing  well.  He  spell  it  out  word  by  word, 
but  I  don't  tink  he  understand  dat  it  come  from  prison, 
only  dat  it  come  from  some  one  who  wanted  some  rope 
and  a  turn-screw.  Me  do  just  de  same  way  wid  de  sec- 
ond letter.  As  for  de  clothes,  me  buy  dem  dat  day, 
make  dem  up  in  bundle,  and  not  go  back  to  lodging  at 
all.  Me  not  know  how  any  one  could  know  dat  I  buy 
dat  minister  clothes  for  you,  sah.  Me  told  de  store' 
keeper  dat  dey  was  for  cousin  of  mine,  who  preach  to  de 
colored  folk,  and  dat  I  send  him  suit  as  present.     Onless 


204  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

dat  man  follow  me  and  watch  me  all  de  time  till  we  go 
off  together,  sah,  me  no  see  how  de  debil  he  guess  about 
it." 

"That's  quite  impossible,  Dan;  it  never  could  have 
been  that  way.  It  is  very  strange,  for  it  would  really 
seem  that  no  one  but  you  and  I  and  the  other  two  officers 
could  possibly  know  about  it." 

"Perhaps  one  of  dem  want  to  do  you  bad  turn,  massa, 
and  write  so  as  to  get  you  caught  and  shut  up  again." 

Vincent  started  at  the  suggestion.  Was  it  possible 
that  Jackson  could  have  done  him  this  bad  turn  after  his 
having  aided  him  to  make  his  escape!  It  would  be  a  vil- 
lainous trick;  but  then  he  had  always  thought  him 
capable  of  villainous  tricks,  and  it  was  only  the  fact  that 
they  were  thrown  together  in  prison  that  had  induced 
him  to  make  up  his  quarrel  with  him;  but  though  Jack- 
son had  accepted  his  advances,  it  was  probable  enough 
that  he  had  retained  his  bad  feeling  against  him,  and  had 
determined,  if  possible,  to  have  his  revenge  on  the  first 
opportunity. 

"The  scoundrel,"  he  said  to  himself,  "after  my  get- 
ting him  free,  to  inform  against  me!  Of  course  I  have 
no  proof  of  it,  but  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  it  was 
him.  If  we  ever  meet  again,  Mr.  Jackson,  I  will  have  it 
out  with  you." 

"You  got  two  pistols,  sah,"  Dan  said  presently. 
"How  you  get  dem?" 

"The  lady  of  that  house  gave  them  to  me,  Dan;  they 
are  one  for  you  and  one  for  me." 

"Dis  chile  no  want  him,  sah;  not  know  what  to  do  wid 
him.     Go  off  and  shoot  myself,  for  sure." 

"Well,  I  don't  suppose  you  would  do  much  good  with 
it,  Dan.  As  I  am  a  good  shot,  perhaps  I  had  better  keep 
them  both.     You  might  load  them  for  me  as  I  fire  them." 

"Bery  well,  sah;  you  show  me  how  to  load,  me  load." 


WITH  LEE  ffl  VIRGINIA.  205 

Vincent  showed  Dan  how  to  extricate  the  discharged 
cartridge-cases  and  to  put  in  fresh  ones,  and  after  a 
quarter  of  an  hour's  practice  Dan  was  able  to  do  this 
with  some  speed. 

"When  we  going  on.,  sah?"  he  said  as,  having  learned 
the  lesson,  he  handed  the  pistol  back  to  Vincent. 

''We  are  not  going  on  until  the  evening,  Dan.  When 
it  gets  dark  the  lady  is  going  to  take  us  to  a  place  where 
there  is  a  boat  hidden,  and  we  shall  then  be  able  to  cross 
the  river." 

"Den  I  will  hab  a  sleep,  sah.  Noting  like  sleeping 
when  there  ia  a  chance." 

"I  believe  you  could  sleep  three-quarters  of  your  time, 
Dan.  However,  you  may  as  well  sleep  now  if  you  can, 
for  there  will  be  nothing  to  do  till  night/' 

Vincent  went  back  to  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and  sat 
down  where  he  could  command  a  view  of  the  cottage. 
The  country  was  for  the  most  part  covered  with  wood, 
for  it  was  but  thinly  inhabited  except  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  main  roads.  Few  of  the  farmers  had  cleared  more 
than  half  their  ground;  many  only  a  few  acres.  The  patch, 
in  which  the  house  with  its  little  clump  of  trees  stood 
nearly  in  the  center,  was  of  some  forty  or  fifty  acres  in 
extent,  and  though  now  rank  with  weeds,  had  evidently 
been  carefully  cultivated,  for  all  the  stumps  had  been 
removed,  and  the  fence  round  it  was  of  a  stronger  and 
neater  character  than  that  which  most  of  the  cultivators 
deemed  sufficient. 

Presently  he  heard  the  sound  of  horses'  feet  in  the 
forest  behind  him,  and  he  made  his  way  back  to  a  road 
which  ran  along  a  hundred  yards  from  the  edge  of  the 
wood.  He  reached  it  before  the  horsemen  came  up,  and 
lay  down  in  the  underwood  a  few  yards  back.  In  a  short 
time  two  horsemen  came  along  at  a  walking  pace. 

"I  call  this  a  fool's  errand  altogether,"  one  of  them 


206  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

said  in  a  grumbling  tone.  "We  don't  know  that  they 
have  headed  this  way;  and  if  they  have,  we  might  search 
these  woods  for  a  month  without  finding  them." 

"That's  so,"  the  other  said;  "but  Mullens  has  set  his 
heart  on  it,  and  we  must  try  for  another  day  or  two.  My 
idea  is  that  when  the  fellow  heard  what  sort  of  a  chap 
Mullens  was,  he  took  the  back  train  that  night  and  went 
up  north  again." 

Vincent  heard  no  more,  but  it  was  enough  to  show  him 
that  a  sharp  hunt  was  being  kept  up  for  him;  and  al- 
though he  had  no  fear  of  being  caught  in  the  woods,  he 
was  well  pleased  at  the  thought  that  he  would  soon  be 
across  the  water  and  beyond  the  reach  of  his  enemy.  He 
went  back  again  to  the  edge  of  the  clearing  and  resumed 
his  watch.  It  was  just  getting  dusk,  and  he  was  about 
to  join  Dan  when  he  saw  a  party  of  twelve  men  ride  out 
from  the  other  side  of  the  wood  and  make  toward  the 
house.  Filled  with  a  vague  alarm  that  possibly  some  one 
might  have  caught  sight  of  him  and  his  follower  on  the 
previous  day,  and  might,  on  being  questioned  by  the 
searchers,  have  given  them  a  clew  as  to  the  direction  in 
which  they  were  going,  Vincent  hurried  to  the  spot 
where  he  left  Dan.  The  negro  jumped  up  as  he  ap- 
proached. 

"Me  awake  long  time,  sah.  Began  to  wonder  where 
you  had  got  to." 

"Take  your  stick  and  come  along,  Dan,  as  fast  as  you 
can." 

Without  another  word  Vincent  led  the  way  along  the 
edge  of  the  wood  to  the  point  where  the  clump  of  trees 
at  the  back  of  the  house  hid  it  from  his  view. 

"Now,  Dan,  stoop  low  and  get  across  to  those  trees." 

Greatly  astonished  at  what  was  happening,  but  having 
implicit  faith  in  his  master,  Dan  followed  without  a  ques- 
tion. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  207 

It  was  but  ten  minutes  since  Vincent  had  seen  the 
horsemen,  but  the  darkness  had  closed  in  rapidly,  and  he 
had  little  fear  of  his  approach  being  seen.  He  made  his 
way  through  the  trees,  and  crept  up  to  the  house,  and 
then  kept  close  along  it  until  he  reached  the  front. 
There  stood  the  horses,  with  the  bridles  thrown  over 
their  necks.     The  riders  were  all  inside  the  house. 

"Look  here,  Dan,"  he  whispered,  "you  keep  here  per- 
fectly quiet  until  I  join  you  again  or  you  hear  a  pistol- 
shot.  If  you  do  hear  a  shot,  rush  at  the  horses  with  your 
stick  and  drive  them  off  at  full  gallop.  Drive  them  right 
into  the  woods  if  you  can  and  then  lie  quiet  there  till  you 
hear  me  whistle  for  you.  If  you  don't  hear  my  whistle 
you  will  know  that  something  has  happened  to  me,  and 
then  you  must  make  your  way  home  as  well  as  you  can." 

"Oh,  Master  Vincent,"  Dan  began;  but  Vincent 
stopped  him. 

"It's  no  use  talking,  Dan;  you  must  do  as  I  order  you. 
I  hope  all  will  be  well;  but  it  must  be  done  anyhow." 

"Let  me  come  and  load  your  pistol  and  fight  with  you, 
sah." 

"You  can  do  more  good  by  stampeding  the  horses, 
Dan.     Perhaps,  after  all,  there  will  be  no  trouble." 

So  saying,  leaving  Dan  with  the  tears  running  down 
his  cheeks,  Vincent  went  to  the  back  of  the  house  and 
tried  the  door  there.  It  was  fastened.  Then  he  went 
to  the  other  side;  and  here,  the  light  streaming  through 
the  window,  which  was  open,  and  the  sound  of  loud 
voices,  showed  him  the  room  where  the  party  were.  He 
crept  cautiously  up  and  looked  in.  Mullens  was  stand- 
ing facing  Lucy  Kingston;  the  rest  of  the  men  were 
standing  behind  him.  The  girl  was  as  pale  as  death,  but 
was  quiet  and  composed. 

"Now,"  Mullens  said,  "I  ask  you  for  the  last  time. 
You  have  admitted  that  a  man  has  been  here  to-day,  and 


208  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

that  you  gave  him  food.  You  say  he  is  not  in  the  house; 
and  as  we  have  searched  it  pretty  thoroughly,  we  know 
that's  right  enough.  You  say  you  don't  know  where  he 
is,  and  that  may  be  true  enough  in  a  sense;  but  I  have 
asked  you  whether  he  is  coming  back  again,  and  you 
won't  answer  me.  I  just  give  you  three  seconds;"  and 
he  held  out  his  arm  with  a  pistol  in  it.  "One!"  As  the 
word  "Two"  left  his  lips,  a  pistol  cracked,  and  Mullens 
fell  back  with  a  bullet  in  his  forehead. 

At  the  same  time  Vincent  shouted  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  "Come  on,  lads;  wipe  'em  out  altogether.  Don't 
let  one  of  them  escape."  As  he  spoke  he  discharged  his 
pistol  rapidly  into  the  midst  of  the  men,  who  were  for 
the  moment  too  taken  by  surprise  to  move,  and  every 
shot  took  effect  upon  them.  At  the  same  moment  there 
was  a  great  shouting  outside,  and  the  trampling  of 
horses'  feet.  One  or  two  of  the  men  hastily  returned 
Vincent's  fire,  but  the  rest  made  a  violent  rush  to  the 
door.  Several  fell  over  the  bodies  of  their  comrades,  and 
Vincent  had  emptied  one  of  his  revolvers  and  fired  three 
shots  with  the  second  before  the  last  of  those  able  to 
escape  did  so.  Five  bodies  remained  on  the  floor.  As 
they  were  still  seven  to  one  against  him,  Vincent  ran  to 
the  corner  of  the  house,  prepared  to  shoot  them  as  they 
came  round;  but  the  ruffians  were  too  scared  to  think  of 
anything  but  escape,  and  they  could  be  heard  running 
and  shouting  across  the  fields. 

Vincent  ran  into  the  house.  He  had  seen  Lucy  Kings- 
ton fall  prostrate  at  the  same  instant  as  the  ruffian  facing 
her.  Strung  up  to  the  highest  tension,  and  expecting  in 
another  second  to  be  shot,  the  crack  of  Vincent's  pistol 
had  brought  her  down  as  surely  as  the  bullet  of  Mullens 
would  have  done.  Even  in  the  excitement  of  firing, 
Vincent  felt  thankful  when  he  saw  her  fall,  and  knew 
that  she  was  safe  from  the  bullets  flying  about.     When 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  209 

he  entered  the  room  he  found  the  old  negress  lying  be- 
side her,  and  thought  at  first  that  she  had  fallen  in  the 
fray.  He  found  that  she  was  not  only  alive,  but  unhurt, 
having,  the  instant  she  saw  her  young  mistress  fall,  thrown 
herself  upon  her  to  protect  her  from  harm. 

"Am  dey  all  gone,  sah?"  she  asked,  as  Vincent  some- 
what roughly  pulled  her  off  the  girl's  body. 

"They  have  all  gone,  Chloe;  but  I  do  not  know  how 
soon  they  may  be  back  again.  Get  your  mistress  round 
as  soon  as  you  can.  I  am  sure  that  she  has  only  fainted, 
for  she  fell  the  instant  I  fired,  before  another  pistol  had 
gone  off." 

Leaving  the  old  woman  to  bring  Miss  Kingston  round, 
he  reloaded  his  pistols  and  went  to  the  door.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  sound  of  horses  galloping  was  heard. 

"Halt,  or  I  fire!"  he  shouted. 

"Don't  shoot,  sah!  don't  shoot!  it  am  me!"  and  Dan  rode 
up,  holding  a  second  horse  by  the  bridle.  "I  thought  I 
might  as  wellget  two  ob  dem,  so  I  jump  on  de  back  ob  one 
and  get  hold  ob  anoder  bridle  while  I  was  waiting  to  hear 
your  pistol  fire.  Den  de  moment  I  heard  dat  I  set  de 
oders  off,  and  chased  dem  to  de  corner  where  de  gate  was 
where  dey  came  in  at,  and  along  de  road  for  half  a  mile; 
dey  so  frightened  dey  not  stop  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Den  I  turn  into  de  wood  and  went  through  de  trees,  so 
as  hot  to  meet  dem  fellows,  and  lifted  two  of  de  bars  of 
the  fence,  and  here  I  am.     You  are  not  hurt,  massa?" 

"My  left  arm  is  broken,  I  think,  Dan;  but  that  is  of 
no  consequence.  I  have  shot  five  of  these  fellows — their 
leader  among  them — and  I  expect  three  of  the  others 
have  got  a  bullet  somewhere  or  other  in  them.  There 
was  such  a  crowd  round  the  door  that  I  don't  think  one 
shot  missed.  It  was  well  I  thought  of  stampeding  the 
horses;  that  gave  them  a  greater  fright  than  my  pistols. 
No  doubt  they  thought  that  there  was  a  party  of  our 


210  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

bushwhackers  upon  them.  Now,  Dan,  you  keep  watch, 
and  let  me  know  if  you  see  any  signs  of  their  returning. 
I  think  they  are  too  shaken  up  to  want  any  more  fight- 
ing; but  as  there  are  seven  of  them,  and  they  may  guess 
there  are  only  two  or  three  of  us,  it  is  possible  they  may 
try  again." 

''Me  don't  tink  dey  try  any  more,  sah.  Anyhow,  I 
look  out  sharp."  So  saying,  Dan,  fastening  up  one  of 
the  horses,  rode  the  other  in  a  circle  round  and  round 
the  house  and  little  plantation,  so  that  it  would  not  be 
possible  for  any  one  to  cross  the  clearing  without  being 
seen.  Vincent  returned  to  the  house,  and  found  Miss 
Kingston  just  recovering  consciousness.  She  sat  upon 
the  ground  in  a  confused  way. 

"What  has  happened,  nurse?" 

"Never  mind  at  present,  dearie.  Juss  you  keep  your- 
self quiet,  and  drink  a  little  water." 

The  girl  mechanically  obeyed.  The  minute  she  put 
down  the  glass  her  eye  fell  upon  Vincent,  who  was  stand- 
ing near  the  door. 

"Oh!  I  remember  now!"  she  said,  starting  up.  "Those 
men  were  here  and  they  were  going  to  shoot  me.  One — ■ 
two — and  then  he  fired,  and  it  seemed  that  I  fell  dead. 
Am  I  not  wounded?" 

"He  never  fired  at  all,  Miss  Kingston;  he  will  never 
fire  again.  I  shot  him  as  he  said  'two,'  and  no  doubt  the 
shock  of  the  sudden  shot  caused  you  to  faint  dead  away. 
You  fell  the  same  instant  that  he  did." 

"But  where  are  the  others?"  the  girl  said  with  a 
shudder.  "How  imprudent  of  you  to  come  here!  I 
hoped  you  had  seen  them  coming  toward  the  house." 

"I  did  see  them,  Miss  Kingston,  and  that  was  the  rea- 
son I  came.  I  was  afraid  they  might  try  rongh  measures 
to  learn  from  you  where  I  was  hidden.  I  arrived  at  the 
window  just  as  the  scoundrel  was  pointing  his  pistol  to- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  311 

ward  you,  and  then  there  was  no  time  to  give  myself  up, 
and  I  had  nothing  to  do  for  it  but  to  put  a  bullet  through 
his  head  in  order  to  save  you.  Then  I  opened  fire  upon 
the  rest,  and  my  boy  drove  off  their  horses.  They  were 
seized  with  a  panic  and  bolted,  thinking  they  were  sur- 
rounded. Of  course  I  kept  up  my  fire,  and  there  are 
four  of  them  in  the  next  room  besides  their  captain. 
And  now,  if  you  please,  I  will  get  you,  in  the  first  place, 
to  bind  my  arm  tightly  across  my  chest,  for  one  of  their 
bullets  hit  me  in  the  left  shoulder,  and  has,  I  fancy, 
broken  it." 

The  girl  gave  an  exclamation  of  dismay. 

"Do  not  be  alarmed,  Miss  Kingston;  a  broken  shoul- 
der is  not  a  very  serious  matter,  only  I  would  rather  it 
had  not  happened  just  at  the  present  moment;  there  are 
more  important  affairs  in  hand.  The  question  is,  What 
is  to  become  of  you?  It  is  quite  impossible  that  you 
should  stay  here  after  what  has  happened.  Those 
scoundrels  are  sure  to  come  back  again." 

"What  am  I  to  do,  Chloe?"  the  girl  asked  in  per- 
plexity. "I  am  sure  we  cannot  stay  here.  We  must  find 
our  way  through  the  woods  to  Nashville,  and  I  must  try 
and  get  something  to  do  there." 

"There  is  another  way,  Miss  Kingston,  if  you  like  to 
try  it-"  Vincent  said.  "Of  course  it  would  be  toilsome 
and  unpleasant,  but  I  do  not  think  it  would  be  danger- 
ous, for  even  if  we  got  caught  there  would  be  no  fear  of 
your  receiving  any  injury  from  the  Federal  troops.  My 
proposal  is  that  you  and  Chloe  should  go  with  us.  If  we 
get  safely  through  the  Federal  lines  I  will  escort  you  to 
Georgia  and  place  you  with  your  friends  there." 

The  girl  looked  doubtful  for  a  moment,  and  then  she 
shook  her  head. 

"I  could  not  think  of  that,  sir.  It  would  be  difficult 
enough  for  you  to  get  through  the  enemy  by  yourselves. 


212  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

It  would  add  terribly  to  your  danger  to  nave  us  with 
you." 

"I  do  not  think  so/'  Vincent  replied.  "Two  men 
would  be  sure  to  be  questioned  and  suspected,  but  a 
party  like  ours  would  be  far  less  likely  to  excite  suspi- 
cion. Every  foot  we  get  south  we  shall  find  ourselves 
more  and  more  among  people  who  are  friendly  to  us,  and 
although  they  might  be  afraid  to  give  shelter  to  men, 
they  would  not  refuse  to  take  women  in.  I  really  think, 
Miss  Kingston,  that  this  plan  is  the  best.  In  the  first 
place  it  would  be  a  dangerous  journey  for  you  through 
the  woods  to  Nashville,  and  if  you  fall  into  the  hands  of 
any  of  those  ruffians  who  have  been  here  you  may  expect 
no  mercy.  At  Nashville  you  will  have  great  difficulty 
in  obtaining  employment  of  any  kind,  and  even  suppose 
you  went  further  north  your  position  as  a  friendless  girl 
would  be  a  most  painful  one.  As  to  your  staying  here, 
that  is  plainly  out  of  the  question.  I  think  that  there  is 
no  time  to  lose  in  making  a  decision.  Those  fellows  may 
go  to  the  camp  at  the  bridge,  give  their  account  of  the 
affair,  declare  they  have  been  attacked  by  a  party  of  Con- 
federate sympathizers,  and  return  here  with  a  troop  of 
liorse." 

"What  do  you  say,  Chloe?"  Lucy  asked. 

"I'se  ready  to  go  widyou  whereber  you  like,  Miss  Lucy; 
but  I  do  tink  dat  in  times  like  dis  dat  a  young  gal  is  best 
wid  her  own  folk.  It  may  be  hard  work  getting  across, 
but  as  to  danger  dar  can't  be  much  more  danger  than  dar 
has  been  in  stopping  alone  here,  so  it  seems  to  me  best  to 
do  as  dis  young  officer  says." 

"Very  well,  then,  I  will,  sir.  We  will  go  under  your 
protection,  and  will  give  you  as  little  trouble  as  we  can. 
We  will  be  ready  in  five  minutes.  Now,  Chloe,  let  us 
put  a  few  things  together.  The  fewer  the  better.  Just 
a  small  bundle  which  we  can  carry  in  our  hands." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  #13 

In  a  few  minutes  they  returned  to  the  room,  Chloe 
carrying  a  large  basket,  and  looking  somewhat  ruffled. 

"Chloe  is  a  little  upset,"  the  girl  said,  smiling,  "be- 
cause I  won't  put  my  best  things  on;  and  the  leaving  her 
Sunday  gown  behind  is  a  sore  trouble  to  her." 

"No  wonder,  sah,"  Chloe  said,  "why  dey  say  dat  dar 
am  no  pretty  dresses  in  de  'Eederacy,  and  dat  blue  gown 
wid  red  spots  in  just  as  good  as  new,  and  it  am  down- 
right awful  to  tink  dat  dose  fellows  will  come  back  and 
take  it." 

"Never  mind,  Chloe,"  Vincent  said,  smiling.  "No 
doubt  we  are  short  of  pretty  dresses  in  the  South,  but  I 
dare  say  we  shall  be  able  to  find  you  something  that  will 
be  almost  as  good.  But  we  must  not  stand  talking. 
You  are  sure  you  have  got  everything  of  value,  Miss 
Kingston?" 

"I  have  got  my  purse,"  she  said,  "and  Chloe  has  got 
some  food.  I  don't  think  there  is  anything  else  worth 
taking  in  the  house." 

"Very  well,  we  will  be  off,"  Vincent  said,  leading  the 
way  to  the  door. 

A  minute  later  Dan  rode  past,  and  Vincent  called  him 
and  told  him  they  were  going  to  start. 

"Shall  we  take  de  horses,  sah?" 

"No,  Dan.  We  are  going  to  carry  out  our  original 
plan  of  crossing  the  river  in  a  boat,  and  I  think  the 
horses  would  be  rather  in  our  way  than  not.  But  you 
had  better  not  leave  them  here.  Take  them  to  the 
further  side  of  the  clearing  and  get  them  through  the 
fence  into  the  forest,  then  strike  across  as  quickly  as  you 
can  and  join  us  where  we  were  stopping  to-day.  Miss 
Kingston  and  her  servant  are  going  with  us.  They  can- 
not stay  here  after  what  has  taken  place." 

Dan  at  once  rode  off  with  the  two  horses,  and  the 
others  walked  across  to  the  edge  of  the  clearing  and 
,  waited  until  he  rejoined  them. 


214  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"Now,  Miss  Kingston,  you  must  be  our  guide  at  pres- 
ent." 

"We  must  cross  the  road  first,"  the  girl  said.  "Nearly 
opposite  to  where  we  are  there  is  a  little  path  through 
the  wood  leading  straight  down  to  the  river.  The  boat 
lies  only  a  short  distance  from  it." 

The  path  was  a  narrow  one,  and  it  was  very  dark 
under  the  trees. 

"Mind  how  you  go,"  Vincent  said  as  the  girl  stepped 
lightly  on  ahead.  "You  might  get  a  heavy  fall  if  you 
caught  your  foot  on  a  root." 

She  instantly  moderated  her  pace.  "I  know  the  path 
well,  but  it  was  thoughtless  of  me  to  walk  so  fast.  I 
forgot  you  did  not  know  it,  and  if  you  were  to  stumble 
you  might  hurt  your  arm  terribly.  How  does  it  feel 
now?" 

"It  certainly  hurts  a  bit,"  Vincent  replied  in  a  cheer 
ful  tone;  "but  now  it  is  strapped  tightly  to  me  it  cannot 
move  much.     Please  do  not  worry  about  me." 

"Ah!"  she  said,  "I  cannot  forget  how  you  got  it — how 
you  attacked  twelve  men  to  save  me!" 

"Still  less  can  I  forget,  Miss  Kingston,  how  you,  a 
young  girl,  confronted  death  rather  than  say  a  word  that 
would  place  me  in  their  power." 

"That  was  quite  different,  Mr.  Wingfield.  My  own 
honor  was  pledged  not  to  betray  you,  who  had  trusted 
me." 

"Well,  we  will  cry  quits  for  the  present,  Miss  Kings- 
ton; or,  rather,  we  will  be  content  to  remain  for  the  pres- 
ent in  each  other's  debt." 

A  quarter  of  an  hour's  walking  brought  them  to  the 
river. 

"Now,"  Lucy  said,  "we  must  make  our  way  about  ten 
yards  through  these  bushes  to  the  right." 

With  some  difficulty  they  passed  through  the  thick 
screen  of  bushes,  the  .girl  still  leading  the  way. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  215 

"Here  it  is,"  she  said;  "I  have  my  hand  upon  it." 
Vincent  Avas  soon  beside  her,  and  the  negroes  quickly 
joined  them. 

"There  are  no  oars  in  the  boat/'  Vincent  said,  feeling 
along  the  seat. 

"Oh!  I  forgot!  They  are  stowed  away  behind  the 
bushes  on  the  right;  they  were  taken  out,  so  that  if  the 
Yankees  found  the  boat  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  them." 

Dan  made  his  way  through  the  bushes,  and  soon  found 
the  oars.  Then  uniting  their  strength  they  pushed  the 
boat  through  the  high  rushes  that  screened  it  from  the 
river. 

"It  -is  afloat,"  Vincent  said.  "Now,  Dan,  take  you* 
place  in  the  bow." 

"I  will  row,  Mr.  Wingfield.  I  am  a  very  good  hand  at 
it.     So  please  take  your  seat  with  Chloe  in  the  stern." 

"Dan  can  take  one  oar,  anyhow,"  Vincent  replied; 
"but  I  will  let  you  row  instead  of  me.  I  am  afraid  I 
should  make  a  poor  hand  of  it  with  only  one  arm." 

The  boat  pushed  quietly  out.  The  river  was  about  a 
hundred  yards  wide  at  this  point.  They  had  taken  but  a 
few  strokes  when  Vincent  said: 

"You  must  row  hard,  Miss  Kingston,  or  we  shall  have 
to  swim  for  it.  The  water  is  coming  through  the  seams 
fast.." 

The  girl  and  Dan  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost; 
but,  short  as  was  the  passage,  the  boat  was  full  almost  to 
the  gunwale  before  they  reached  the  opposite  bank,  the 
heat  of  the  sun  having  caused  the  planks  to  open  during 
the  months  it  had  been  lying  ashore. 

"This  is  a  wet  beginning,"  Lucy  Kingston  said,  laugh- 
ing, as  she  tried  to  wring  the  water  out  of  the  lower  part 
of  her  dress.  "Here,  Chloe;  you  wring  me  and  I  will 
wring  you." 

"Now,  Dan,  get  hold  of  that  head-rope,"  Vincent  said; 


216  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"haul  her  up  little  by  little  as  the  water  runs  out  over 
the  stern." 

"I  should  not  trouble  about  the  boat,  Mr.  Wingfield; 
it  is  not  likely  we  shall  ever  want  it  again." 

"I  was  not  thinking  of  the  boat;  I  was  thinking  of 
ourselves.  If  it  should  happen  to  be  noticed  at  the  next 
bridge  as  it  drifted  down,  it  would  at  once  suggest  to 
any  one  on  the  lookout  for  us  that  we  had  crossed  the 
river;  whereas,  if  we  get  it  among  the  bushes  here,  they 
will  believe  that  we  are  hidden  in  the  woods,  or  have 
headed  back  to  the  north,  and  we  shall  be  a  long  way 
across  the  line,  I  hope,  before  they  give  up  searching  fc*r 
us  in  the  woods  on  the  other  side." 

"Yes;  I  didn't  think  of  that.  We  will  help  you  with 
the  rope." 

The  boat  was  very  heavy,  now  that  it  was  full  of  water. 
Inch  by  inch  it  was  pulled  up,  until  the  water  was  all  out 
except  near  the  stern.  Dan  and  Vincent  then  turned  it 
bottom  upward,  and  it  was  soon  hauled  up  among  the 
bushes. 

"Now,  Miss  Kingston,  which  do  you  think  is  our  best 
course?  I  know  nothing  whatever  of  the  geography 
here." 

"The  next  town  is  Mount  Pleasant;  that  is  where  the 
Williamsport  road  passes  the  railway.  If  we  keep  south 
we  shall  strike  the  railway,  and  that  will  take  us  to 
Mount  Pleasant.  After  that  the  road  goes  on  to  Flor- 
ence, on  the  Tennessee  Eiver.  The  only  place  that  I 
know  of  on  the  road  is  Lawrenceburg.  That  is  about 
forty  miles  from  here,  and  I  have  heard  that  the  Yankees 
are  on  the  line  from  there  right  and  left.  I  believe  our 
troops  are  at  Florence;  but  I  am  not  sure  about  that,  be- 
cause both  parties  are  constantly  shifting  their  position, 
and  I  hear  very  little,  as  you  may  suppose,  of  what  is 
being  done.     Anyhow,  I  think  we  cannot  do  better  than 


WITH  LEE  JJV  VIRGINIA.  217 

go  on  until  we  strike  the  railway,  keep  along  by  that  till 
we  get  within  a  short  distance  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and 
then  cross  it.  After  that  we  can  decide  whether  we  will 
travel  by  the  road  or  keep  on  through  the  woods.  But 
we  cannot  find  our  way  through  the  woods  at  night;  we 
should  lose  ourselves  before  we  had  gone  twenty  yards." 

"I  am  afraid  we  should,  Miss  Kingston." 

"Please  call  me  Lucy,"  the  girl  interrupted.  "I  am 
never  called  anything  else,  and  I  am  sure  this  is  not  a 
time  for  ceremony." 

"I  think  that  it  will  be  better;  and  will  you  please  call 
me  Vin.  It  is  much  shorter  and  pleasanter  using  our 
first  names;  and  as  we  must  pass  for  brother  and  sister  if 
we  get  among  the  Yankees,  it  is  better  to  get  accustomed 
to  it.  I  quite  agree  with  you  that  it  will  be  too  dark  to 
find  our  way  through  the  woods  unless  we  can  discover  a 
path.  Dan  and  I  will  see  if  we  can  find  one.  If  we  can, 
I  think  it  will  be  better  to  go  on  a  little  way  at  any  rate, 
so  as  to  get  our  feet  warm  and  let  our  clothes  dry  a  little." 

"They  will  not  dry  to-night,"  Lucy  said.  "It  is  so 
damp  in  the  woods  that  even  if  our  clothes  were  dry  now 
they  would  be  wet  before  morning." 

"I  did  not  think  of  that.  Yes,  in  that  case  I  do  not 
see  that  we  should  gain  anything  by  going  further;  we 
will  push  on  for  two  or  three  hundred  yards,  if  we  can, 
and  then  we  can  light  a  fire  without  there  being  any 
chance  of  it  being  seen  from  the  other  side." 

"That  would  be  comfortable,  Mr. — I  mean  Vin,"  the 
girl  agreed,  "That  is,  if  you  are  quite  sure  that  it  would 
be  safe.  I  would  rather  be  wet  all  night  than  that  we 
should  run  any  risks." 

"I  am  sure  if  we  can  get  a  couple  of  hundred  yards 
into  this  thick  wood  the  fire  would  not  be  seen  through 
it,"  Vincent  said;  "of  course  I  do  not  mean  fco  make  a 
great  bonfire  which  would  light  up  the  forest." 


218  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

For  half  an  hour  they  forced  their  way  through  the 
bushes,  and  then  Vincent  said  he  was  sure  that  they  had 
come  far  enough.  Finding  a  small  open  space,  Dan,  and 
Lucy,  and  the  negress  set  to  work  collecting  leaves  and 
dry  sticks.  Vincent  had  still  in  his  pocket  the  news- 
paper he  had  bought  in  the  streets  of  Nashville,  and  he 
always  carried  lights.  A  piece  of  the  paper  was  crumpled 
up  and  lighted,  a  few  of  the  driest  leaves  they  could  find 
dropped  upon  it,  then  a  few  twigs,  until  at  last  a  good 
fire  was  burning. 

"I  think  that  is  enough  for  the  present,"  Vincent  said. 
"Now  we  will  keep  on  adding  wood  as  fast  as  it  burns 
down,  so  as  to  get  a  great  pile  of  embers,  and  keep  two 
or  three  good  big  logs  burning  all  night." 

He  then  gave  directions  to  Dan,  who  cut  a  long  stick 
and  fastened  it  to  two  saplings,  one  of  which  grew  just 
in  front  of  the  fire.  Then  he  set  to  work  and  cut  off 
branches,  and  laid  them  sloping  against  it,  and  soon  had 
an  arbor  constructed  of  sufficient  thickness  to  keep  off 
the  night  dews. 

"I  think  you  will  be  snug  in  there,"  Vincent  said  when 
he  had  finished.  "The  heat  of  the  fire  will  keep  you  dry 
and  warm,  and  if  you  lie  with  your  heads  the  other  way  I 
think  your  things  will  be  dry  by  the  morning.  Dan  and 
I  will  lie  down  by  the  other  side  of  the  fire.  We  are  both 
accustomed  to  sleep  in  the  ojDenair,  and  have  done  so  for 
months." 

"Thank  you  very  much,"  she  said.  "Our  things  are 
drying  already,  and  I  am  as  warm  as  toast;  but,  indeed, 
you  need  not  trouble  about  us.  We  brought  these  warm 
shawls  with  us  on  purpose  for  night-work  in  the  forest. 
Now,  I  think  we  will  try  the  contents  of  the  basket  Dan 
has  been  carrying." 

The  basket,  which  was  a  good-sized  one,  was  opened. 
Chloe  had  before  starting  put  all  the  provisions  in  the 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIEGLWIA.  219 

house  into  it,  and  it  contained  three  loaves,  five  or  six 
pounds  of  bacon,  a  canister  of  tea  and  loaf-sugar,  a  small 
kettle,  and  two  pint  mugs,  besides  a  number  of  odds  and 
ends.  The  kettle  Dan  had,  by  Ohloe's  direction,  filled 
with  water  before  leaving  the  river,  and  this  was  soon 
placed  among  the  glowing  embers. 

"But  you  have  brought  no  teapot,  Chloe." 

"Dar  was  no  room  for  it,  Miss  Lucy.  We  can  make 
tea  bery  well  in  de  kettle." 

"So  we  can.     I  forgot  that.     We  shall  do  capitally." 

The  kettle  was  not  long  in  boiling.  Chloe  produced 
some  spoons  and  knives  and  forks  from  the  basket. 

"Spoons  and  forks  are  luxuries,  Chloe,"  Vincent  said, 
laughing.     "We  could  have  managed  without  them." 

"Yes,  sah;  but  me  not  going  to  leave  massa's  silver  for 
dose  villains  to  find." 

Lucy  laughed.  "At  any  rate,  Chloe,  we  can  turn  the 
silver  into  money  if  we  run  short.  Now  the  kettle  is 
boiling." 

It  was  taken  off  the  fire,  and  Lucy  poured  some  tea 
into  it  from  the  canister,  and  then  proceeded  to  cut  up 
the  bread.  A  number  of  slices  of  bacon  had  already  been 
cut  off,  and  a  stick  thrust  through  them,  and  Dan,  who 
was  squatted  at  the  other  side  of  the  fire  holding  it  over 
the'  flames,  now  pronounced  them  to  be  ready.  The 
bread  served  as  plates,  and  the  party  were  soon  engaged 
upon  their  meal,  laughing  and  talking  over  it  as  if  it  had 
been  an  ordinary  picnic  in  the  woods,  though  at  times 
Vincent's  face  contracted  from  the  sharp  twitching  of 
pain  in  his  shoulder.  Vincent  and  Lucy  first  drank  their 
tea,  and  the  mugs  were  then  handed  to  Dan  and  Chloe. 

"This  is  great  fun,"  Lucy  said.  "If  it  goes  on  like  it 
all  through  our  journey  we  shall  have  no  need  to  grum- 
ble.    Shall  we  Chloe?" 

"If  you  don't  grumble,  Miss  Lucy,  you  may  be  quite 


220  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

sure  dat  Chloe  will  not.  But  we  hab  not  oegun  our 
journey  at  present;  and  I  spec  dat  we  shall  find  it  pretty- 
hard  work  before  we  get  to  de  end.  But  nebber  mind 
dat;  anyting  is  better  dan  being  all  by  ourselves  in  dat 
house.     Terrible  sponsibility  dat." 

"It  was  lonely/'  the  girl  said,  "and  I  am  glad  we  are 
away  from  it,  whatever  happens.  What  a  day  this  has 
been!  Who  could  have  dreamed  when  I  got  up  in  the 
morning  that  all  this  would  take  place  before  night?  It 
seems  almost  like  a  dream,  and  I  can  hardly  believe" — 
and  here  she  stopped  with  a  little  shiver  as  she  thought 
of  the  scene  she  had  passed  through  with  the  band  of 
bushwhackers. 

"I  would  not  think  anything  at  all  about  it,"  Vincent 
said.  "And  now  I  should  recommend  your  turning  in, 
and  getting  to  sleep  as  sen  s  you  can.  We  will  be  off 
at  daybreak,  and  it  is  just  twelve  o  clock  now." 

Five  minutes  later  -nicy  and  her  old  nurse  were  snugly 
ensconced  in  their  little  "owe.,  while  Vincent  and  Dan 
stretched  themselves  a  full  Lngt\  on  the  other  side  of 
the  fire.  In  spite  o*  the  pain  in  his  shoulder  Vincent 
dozed  off  occasionally  but  he  was  heartily  glad  when  he 
saw  the  first  gleam  of  1  ght  in  the  sky.     He  woke  Dan. 

"Dan,  do  you  take  the  kettle  down  to  the  river  and 
fill  it.  We  had  better  hav  some  breakfast  before  we 
make  our  start.  If  you  can',  find  your  way  back,  whistle 
and  I  will  answer  you." 

Dan,  however,  had  no  occasion  to  give  the  signal.  It 
took  him  little  more  than  five  minutes  to  traverse  the 
distance  that  had  occupied  them  half  an  hour  in  the  thick 
darkness,  and  Vincent  was  quite  surprised  when  he  reap- 
peared again  with  the  kettle.  Not  until  it  was  boiling 
and  the  bacon  was  ready  did  Vincent  raise  his  voice  and 
call  Lucy  and  the  nurse. 

"This  is  reversing  the  order  of  things  altogether,"  the 


WITS  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  221 

girl  said  as  she  came  out  and  saw  breakfast  already  pre- 
pared. "I  shall  not  allow  it  another  time,  I  can  tell 
you." 

"We  are  old  campaigners,  you  see,"  Vincent  said, 
"and  accustomed  to  early  movements.  Now  please  let 
us  waste  no  time,  as  the  sooner  we  are  off  the  better." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  breakfast  was  eaten  and  the 
basket  packed,  and  they  were  on  their  way.  Now  the 
bright,  glowing  light  in  the  east  was  sufficient  guide  to 
them  as  to  the  direction  they  should  take,  and  setting 
their  face  to  the  south  they  started  through  the  forest. 
In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  came  upon  a  little  stream 
running  through  the  wood,  and  here  Vincent  suggested 
that  Lucy  might  like  a  wash,  a  suggestion  which  was 
gratefully  accepted.  He  and  Dan  went  a  short  distance 
down  the  streamlet,  and  Vincent  bathed  his  face  and 
head. 

"Dan,  I  will  get  you  to  undo  this  bandage  and  get  off 
my  coat;  then  I  will  make  a  pad  of  my  handkerchief  and 
dip  it  in  the  water  and  you  can  lay  it  on  my  shoulder, 
and  then  help  me  on  again  with  my  coat.  My  arm  is 
getting  horribly  painful." 

Vincent's  right  arm  was  accordingly  drawn  through 
the  sleeve  and  the  coat  turned  down  so  as  to  enable  Dan 
to  lay  the  wet  pad  on  the  shoulder. 

"It  has  not  bled  much,"  Vincent  said,  looking  down 
at  it. 

"'No,  sah,  not  much  blood  on  de  shirt." 

"Pull  the  coat  down  as  far  as  the  elbow,  Dan,  and 
bathe  it  for  a  bit." 

Using  his  cap  as  a  baler,  Dan  bathed  the  arm  for  ten 
minutes,  then  the  wet  pad  was  placed  in  position,  and 
with  some  difficulty  the  coat  got  on  again.  The  arm  was 
then  bandaged  across  the  chest,  and  they  returned  to  the 
women,  who  were  beginning  to  wonder  at  the  delay. 


223  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LAID    UP. 

"You  must  see  a  surgeon  whatever  the  risk,"  Lucy 
said  when  the  others  joined  them,  for  now  that  it  was 
light  she  could  see  by  the  paleness  of  Vincent's  face,  and 
the  drawn  expression  of  the  mouth,  how  much  he  had 
suffered. 

"You  have  made  so  light  of  your  wound  that  we  have 
not  thought  of  it  half  as  much  as  we  ought  to  do,  and 
you  must  have  thought  me  terribly  heartless  to  be  laugh- 
ing and  talking  when  you  were  in  such  pain.  But  it  will 
never  do  to  go  on  like  this;  it  is  quite  impossible  for  you 
to  be  traveling  so  far  without  having  your  shoulder 
properly  attended  to." 

"I  should  certainly  be  glad  to  have  it  looked  to,"  Vin- 
cent replied.  "I  don't  know  whether  the  bullet's  there 
or  if  it  has  made  its  way  out,  and  if  that  could  be  seen 
to,  and  some  splints  or  something  of  that  sort  put  on  to 
keep  things  in  their  right  place,  no  doubt  I  should  be 
easier;  but  I  don't  see  how  it  is  to  be  managed.  At  any 
rate,  for  the  present  we  must  go  on,  and  I  would  much 
rather  that  you  said  nothing  about  it.  There  it  is,  and 
fretting  over  it  won't  do  it  any  good,  while  if  you  talk  of 
other  things  I  may  forget  it  sometimes." 

In  two  hours  they  came  upon  the  railway,  whose  course 
lay  diagonally  across  that  they  were  taking.  They  fol- 
lowed it  until  they  caught  sight  of  the  houses  of  Mount 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  223 

Pleasant,  some  two  miles  away,  and  then  crossed  it. 
After  walking  some  distance  further  they  came  upon  a 
small  clearing  with  a  log-hut,  containing  apparently  three 
or  four  rooms,  in  the  center. 

"We  had  better  skirt  round  this,"  Vincent  suggested. 

"No,"  Lucy  said  in  a  determined  voice.  "I  have 
made  up  my  mind  I  would  go  to  the  first  place  we  came 
to  and  see  whether  anything  can  be  done  for  you.  I  can 
see  you  are  in  such  pain  you  can  hardly  walk,  and  it  will 
be  quite  impossible  for  you  to  go  much  further.  They 
are  sure  to  be  Confederates  at  heart  here,  and  even  if 
they  will  not  take  us  in,  there  is  no  fear  of  their  betray- 
ing us;  at  any  rate  we  must  risk  it." 

Vincent  began  to  remonstrate,  but  without  paying  any 
attention  to  him  the  girl  left  the  shelter  of  the  trees  and 
walked  straight  toward  the  house.  The  others  followed 
her.  Vincent  had  opposed  her  suggestion,  but  he  had 
for  some  time  acknowledged  to  himself  that  he  could  not 
go  much  further.  He  had  been  trying  to  think  what  had 
best  be  done,  and  had  concluded  that  it  would  be  safest 
to  arrange  with  some  farmer  to  board  Lucy  and  her  nurse 
for  a  time,  while  he  himself  with  Dan  went  a  bit  further; 
and  then,  if  they  could  get  no  one  to  take  them  in,  would 
camp  up  in  the  woods  and  rest.  He  decided  that  in  a 
da}"  or  two,  if  no  improvement  took  place  in  his  wound,  he 
would  give  himself  up  to  the  Federals  at  Mount  Pleasant, 
as  he  would  there  be  able  to  get  his  wound  attended  to. 

"I  don't  think  there  is  any  one  in  the  house,"  Lucy 
said,  looking  back  over  her  shoulder;  "there  is  no  smoke 
coming  from  the  chimney,  and  the  shutters  are  closed, 
and  besides  the  whole  place  looks  neglected." 

Upon  reaching  the  door  of  the  house  it  was  evident 
that  it  had  been  deserted.  Lucy  had  now  assumed  the 
command. 

"Dan,"  she  said,  "there  is  no  shutter  to  the  window  of 


224  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

that  upper  room.     You  must  manage  to  climb  up  there 
aud  get  in  at  that  window,  and  then  open  the  door  to  us." 

"All  right,  missie,  me  manage  dat,"  Dan  said  cheer- 
fully. Looking  about  he  soon  found  a  long  pole  which 
would  answer  his  purpose,  placed  the  end  of  this  against 
the  window,  and  climbed  up.  It  was  not  more  than 
twelve  feet  above  the  rgound.  He  broke  one  of  the  win- 
dows, and  inserting  his  hand  ur*did  the  fastening  aud 
climbed  in  at  the  window.  A  minute  later  they  heard  a 
grating  sound,  and  then  the  lock  shot  back  under  the 
application  of  his  knife,  and  the  door  swung  open. 

"That  will  do  nicely,"  Lucy  said,  entering.  "We 
will  take  possession.  If  the  owners  happen  to  come  back 
we  can  pay  them  for  the  use  of  the  place." 

The  furniture  had  been  removed  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  of  the  heavy  articles,  and  Chloe  and  Lucy  at  once  set 
to  work,  and  with  bunches  of  long  grass  swept  out  one  of 
the  rooms.  Dan  cut  a  quantity  of  grass  and  piled  it 
upon  an  old  bedstead  that  stood  in  the  corner,  and  Lucy 
smoothed  it  down. 

"Now,  sir,"  she  said  peremptorily  to  Vincent,  "you 
will  lie  down  and  keep  yourself  quiet,  but  first  of  all  I 
will  cut  your  coat  off." 

One  of  the  table-knives  soon  effected  the  work,  and 
the  coat  was  rolled  up  as  a  pillow.  Dan  removed  his 
boots,  and  Vincent,  who  was  now  beyond  even  remonstrat- 
ing, laid  himself  down  on  his  cool  bed. 

"Now,  Chloe,"  Miss  Kingston  said  when  they  had  left 
Vincent's  room,  "I  will  leave  him  to  your  care.  I  am 
sure  that  you  must  be  thoroughly  tired,  for  I  don't  sup- 
pose you  have  walked  so  many  miles  since  you  were  a 
girl." 

"I  is  tired,  missie;  but  I  am  ready  to  do  anyting  you 
want." 

"I  only  want  you  to  attend  to  him,  Chloe.     First  of 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  225 

all  you  had  better  make  some  tea.  You  know  what  is  a 
good  thing  to  give  for  a  fever,  and  if  you  can  find  any- 
thing in  the  garden  to  make  a  drink  of  that  sort,  do;  but 
I  hope  he  will  doze  off  for  some  time.  When  you  have 
done,  you  had  better  get  this  place  tidy  a  little;  it  is  in  a 
terrible  litter.  Evidently  no  one  has  been  in  since  they 
moved  out." 

The  room,  indeed,  was  strewed  with  litter  of  all  sorts, 
rubbish  not  worth  taking  away,  old  newspapers,  and  odds 
and  ends  of  every  description.  Lucy  looked  about  among 
these  for  some  time,  and  with  an  exclamation  of  satisfac- 
tion at  last  picked  up  two  crumpled  envelopes.  They 
were  both  addressed  "William  Jenkins,  Woodford,  near 
Mount  Pleasant." 

"That  is  just  what  I  wanted,"  she  said. 

"What  am  you  going  to  do,  Miss  Lucy?'" 

"I  am  going  to  Mount  Pleasant,"  she  said. 

"Lor'  a  marcy,  dearie,  you  are  not  going  to  walk  that 
distance!     You  must  have  walked  twelve  miles  already." 

"I  should  if  it  were  twice  as  far,  Chloe.  There  are 
some  things  we  must  get.  Don't  look  alarmed,  I  shall 
take  Dan  with  me.  Now,  let  me  see.  In  the  first  place 
there  are  lemons  for  making  drink,  and  linseed  for  poul- 
tices, some  meat  for  making  broth,  and  some  flour,  and 
other  things  for  ourselves;  we  may  have  to  stay  here  for 
some  time.  Tell  me  just  what  you  want  and  I  will  get 
it." 

Chloe  made  out  a  list  of  necessaries. 

"I  shan't  be  gone  long,"  the  girl  said.  "If  he  asks 
after  me  or  Dan,  make  out  we  are  looking  about  the 
place  to  see  what  is  useful.  Don't  let  him  know  I  have 
gone  to  Mount  Pleasant,  it  might  worry  him." 

Dan  at  once  agreed  to  accompany  the  girl  to  Mount 
Pleasant  when  he  heard  that  she  was  going  to  get  things 
for  his  master. 


226  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Looking  about  he  found  an  old  basket  among  the 
litter,  and  they  started  without  delay  by  the  one  road  from 
the  clearing,  which  led,  they  had  no  doubt,  to  the  town. 
It  was  about  two  miles  distant,  and  was  really  but  a  large 
village.  A  few  Federal  soldiers  from  the  camp  hard  by 
were  lounging  about  the  streets,  but  these  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  them.  Lucy  soon  made  her  purchases,  and  then 
went  to  the  house  that  had  been  pointed  out  to  her  as 
being  inhabited  by  the  doctor  who  attended  to  the  needs 
of  the  people  of  Mount  Pleasant  and  the  surrounding 
district.  Fortunately  he  was  at  home.  Lucy  looked  at 
him  closely  as  he  entered  the  room  and  took  his  seat. 
He  was  a  middle-aged  man  with  a  shrewd  face,  and  she 
at  once  felt  that  she  might  have  confidence  in  it. 

"Doctor,"  she  said,  "I  want  you  to  come  out  to  see 
some  one  who  is  very  ill." 

"What  is  the  matter  with  him?  or  is  it  him  or  her?" 

"It  is — it's — "  and  Lucy  hesitated,  "a  hurt  he  has 
got." 

"A  wound,  I  suppose?"  the  doctor  said  quietly.  "You 
may  as  well  tell  me  at  once,  as  for  me  to  find  out  when  I 
get  there,  then  I  can  take  whatever  is  required  with  me." 

"Yes,  sir.  It  is  a  wound,"  Lucy  said.  "His  shoulder 
is  broken,  I  believe,  by  a  pistol  bullet." 

"Umph!"  the  doctor  said.  "It  might  have  been 
worse.  Do  not  hesitate  to  tell  me  all  about  it,  young 
lady.  I  have  had  a  vast  number  of  cases  on  hand  since 
these  troubles  began.  By  the  way,  I  do  not  know  your 
face,  and  I  thought  I  knew  every  one  within  fifteen  miles 
around." 

"I  come  from  the  other  side  of  the  Duck  Eiver.  But 
at  present  he  is  lying  at  a  place  called  Woodford,  but  two 
miles  from  here." 

"Oh,  yes!  I  know  it.  But  I  thought  it  was  empty. 
Let  me  see,  a  man  named  Jenkins  lived  there.      He  was 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  227 

killed  at  the  beginning  of  the  troubles  in  a  fight  near 
Murfreesboro.  His  widow  moved  in  here;  and  she  has 
married  again  and  gone  five  miles  on  the  other  side.  I 
know  she  was  trying  to  sell  the  old  place." 

"We  have  not  purchased  it,  sir;  we  have  just  squatted 
there.  My  friend  was  taken  so  bad  that  we  could  go  no 
further.  We  were  trying,  doctor,  to  make  our  way  down 
south." 

"Your  friend,  whoever  he  is,  did  a  very  foolish  thing 
to  bring  a  young  lady  like  yourself  on  such  a  long  jour- 
ney.    You  are  not  a  pair  of  runaway  lovers,  are  you?" 

"No,  indeed,"  Lucy  said,  flushing  scarlet;  "we  have 
no  idea  of  such  a  thing.  I  was  living  alone,  and  the 
house  was  attacked  by  bushwhackers,  the  band  of  a  vil- 
lain named  Mullens." 

"Oh!  I  saw  all  about  that  in  the  Nashville  paper  this 
morning.  They  were  attacked  by  a  band  of  Confederate 
plunderers,  it  said." 

'They  were  attacked  by  one  man,"  the  girl  replied. 
"They  were  on  the  point  of  murdering  me  when  he  ar- 
rived. He  shot  Mullens  and  four  of  his  band  and  the 
rest  made  off,  but  he  got  this  wound.  And  as  I  knew 
the  villains  would  return  again  and  burn  the  house  and 
kill  me,  I  and  my  old  nurse  determined  to  go  southward 
to  join  my  friends  in  Georgia." 

"Well,  you  can  tell  me  more  about  it  as  we  go,"  the 
doctor  said.  "I  will  order  my  buggy  round  to  the  door, 
and  drive  you  back.  I  will  take  my  instruments  and 
things  with  me.  It  is  no  business  of  mine  whether  a 
sick  man  is  a  Confederate  or  a  Federal;  all  my  business  is 
to  heal  them." 

"Thank  you  very  much,  doctor.  While  the  horse  is 
being  put  in  I  will  go  down  and  tell  the  negro  boy  with 
me  to  go  straight  on  with  a  basket  of  things  I  have  been 
buying." 


228  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"Where  is  he  now?"  the  doctor  asked. 

"I  think  he  is  sitting  down  outside  the  door,  sir." 

"Then  you  needn't  go  down/'  the  doctor  said.  "He 
can  jump  up  behind  and  go  with  us.  He  will  get  there 
all  the  quicker." 

In  five  minutes  they  were  driving  down  the  village, 
with  Dan  in  the  back  seat.  On  the  way  the  doctor  ob- 
tained from  Lucy  a  more  detailed  account  of  their  ad- 
ventures. 

"So  he  is  one  of  those  Confederate  officers  who  broke 
prison  at  Elmira,"  he  said.  "I  saw  yesterday  that  one 
of  his  companions  was  captured." 

"Was  he,  sir?     How  was  that?" 

"It  seems  that  he  had  made  his  way  down  to  Washing- 
ton, and  was  staying  at  one  of  the  hotels  there  as  a  Mr. 
James  of  Baltimore.  As  he  was  going  through  the  street 
ho  was  suddenly  attacked  by  a  negro,  who  assaulted  him 
with  such  fury  that  he  would  have  killed  him  had  he  not 
been  dragged  off  by  passers-by.  The  black  would  have 
been  very  roughly  treated,  but  he  denounced  the  man  he 
had  attacked  as  one  of  the  Confederate  officers  who  had 
escaped  from  the  prison.  It  seems  that  the  negro  had 
been  a  slave  of  his  who  had  been  barbarously  treated,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  and  reaching  Eng- 
land, after  which  he  went  to  Canada;  and  now  that  it  is 
safe  for  an  escaped  slave  to  live  in  the  Northern  States 
without  fear  of  arrest  or  ill-treatment  he  had  come  down 
to  Washington  with  the  intention  of  engaging  as  a  team- 
ster with  one  of  the  Northern  armies,  in  the  hope  when 
he  made  his  way  to  Richmond  of  being  able  to  gain  some 
news  of  his  wife,  whom  his  master  had  sold  before  he  ran 
away  from  him." 

"It  served  the  man  right!"  Lucy  said  indignantly. 
"It's  a  good  thing  that  the  slaves  should  turn  the  tables 
sometimes  upon  masters  who  ill-treat  them." 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  229 

"You  don't  think  my  patient  would  ill-treat  his 
slaves?"  the  doctor  asked  with  a  little  smile. 

"I  am  sure  he  wouldn't/'  the  girl  said  indignantly. 
"Why,  the  boy  behind  you  is  one  of  his  slaves,  and  I  am 
sure  he  would  give  his  life  for  his  master." 

Dan  had  overheard  the  doctor's  story,  and  now  ex- 
claimed: 

"No,  sah.  Massa  Vincent  de  kindest  of  masters.  If 
all  like  him,  de  slaves  eberywhere  contented  and  happy. 
What  was  de  name  of  dat  man,  sah,  you  was  speaking 
of?" 

"His  name  was  Jackson,"  the  doctor  answered. 

"I  to ught  so,"  Dan  exclaimed  in  excitement.  "Massa 
never  mentioned  de  names  of  de  two  officers  who  got  out 
wid  him,  and  it  war  too  dark  for  me  to  see  their  faces, 
but  dat  story  made  me  tink  it  must  be  him.  Bery  bad 
man  that;  he  libs  close  to  us,  and  Massa  Vincent  one  day 
pretty  nigh  kill  him  because  he  beat  dat  bery  man  who 
has  catched  him  now  on  de  street  of  Washington.  When 
dat  man  sell  him  wife  Massa  Vincent  buy  her  so  as  to 
prevent  her  falling  into  bad  hands.  She  safe  now  wid 
his  mother  at  de  Orangery — dat's  de  name  of  her  plan- 
tation." 

"My  patient  must  be  quite  an  interesting  fellow,  young 
ladv,"  the  doctor  said,  with  a  rather  slight  twinkle  of 
his  eye.  "Avery  knight-errant.  But  there  is  the  house 
now;  we  shall  soon  see  all  about  him." 

Taking  with  him  the  case  of  instruments  and  medi- 
cines he  had  brought,  the  doctor  entered  Vincent's  room. 
Lucy  entered  first;  and  although  surprised  to  see  a 
stranger  with  her,  Vincent  saw  by  her  face  that  there  was 
no  cause  for  alarm. 

"I  have  brought  you  a  doctor,"  she  said.  "You  could 
not  go  on  as  you  were,  you  know.  So  Dan  and  I  have 
been  to  fetch  one." 


230  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

The  doctor  now  advanced  and  took  Vincent's  hand. 

"Feverish,"  he  said,  looking  at  his  cheeks,  which  were 
now  flushed.  "You  have  been  doiug  too  much,  I  fancy. 
Now  let  us  look  at  this  wound  of  yours.  Has  your  serv- 
ant got  any  warm  water?"  he  asked  Lucy. 

Lucy  left  the  room,  and  returned  in  a  minute  with  a 
kettlef  ul  of  warm  water  and  a  basin  which  was  among  the 
purchases  she  had  made  at  Mount  Pleasant. 

"That  is  right,"  the  doctor  said,  taking  it  from  her. 
"Now  we  will  cut  open  the  shirt  sleeve.  I  think,  young 
lady,  you  had  better  leave  us,  unless  you  are  accustomed 
to  the  sight  of  wounds." 

"I  am  not  accustomed  to  them,  sir;  but  as  thousands 
of  women  have  been  nursing  the  wounded  in  the  hos- 
pitals, I  suppose  I  can  do  so  now." 

Taking  a  knife  from  the  case,  the  doctor  cut  open  the 
shirt  from  the  neck  tc  the  elbow.  The  shoulder  was  ter- 
ribly swollen  and  inflamed,  and  a  little  exclamation  of 
pain  broke  from  Lucy. 

"That  is  the  effect  of  walking  and  inattention,"  the 
doctor  said.  "If  I  could  have  taken  him  in  hand  within 
an  hour  of  his  being  hit  the  matter  would  have  been  sim- 
ple enough;  but  I  cannot  search  for  the  ball,  or  in  fact 
do  anything,  till  we  have  reduced  the  swelling.  You 
must  put  warm  poultices  on  every  half-hour,  and  by  to- 
morrow I  hope  the  inflammation  will  have  subsided,  and 
I  can  then  see  about  the  ball.  It  evidently  is  somewhere 
there  still,  for  there  is  no  sign  of  its  having  made  its  exit 
anywhere.  In  the  meantime  you  must  give  him  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  this  cooling  draught  every  two  hours, 
and  to-night  give  him  this  sleeping  draught.  I  will  be 
over  to-morrow  morning  to  see  him.  Do  not  be  uneasy 
about  him;  the  wound  itself  is  not  serious,  and  when  we 
have  got  rid  of  the  fever  and  inflammation  I  have  no 
doubt  we  shall  pull  him  round  before  long." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  231 

"I  know  the  wound  is  nothing,"  Vincent  said;  "I  have 
told  Miss  Kingston  so  all  along.  It  is  nothing  at  all  to 
one  I  got  at  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  where  I  had 
three  ribs  badly  broken  by  a  shell.  I  was  laid  up  a  long 
time  over  that  business.  Now  I  hope  in  a  week  I  shall 
be  fit  to  travel." 

The  doctor  shook  his  head.  "Not  as  soon  as  that, 
fetill  we  will  hope  it  may  not  be  long.  Now  all  you  have 
to  do  is  to  lie  quiet  and  not  worry,  and  to  get  to  sleep  as 
quick  as  you  can.  You  must  not  let  your  patient  talk, 
Miss  Kingston.  It  will  be  satisfactory  to  you,  no 
doubt,"  he  went  on,  turning  to  Vincent,  "to  know  that 
there  is  no  fear  whatever  of  your  being  disturbed  here. 
The  road  leads  nowhere,  and  is  entirely  out  of  the  way  of 
traffic.  I  should  say  you  might  be  here  six  months  with- 
out even  a  chance  of  a  visitor.  Every  one  knows  the 
house  is  shut  up,  and  as  you  have  no  neighbor  within 
half  a  mile  no  one  is  likely  to  call  in.  Even  if  any  one 
did  by  accident  come  here  you  would  be  in  no  danger; 
we  are  all  one  way  of  thinking  about  here." 

"Shall  we  make  some  broth  for  him?"  Lucy  asked 
after  they  had  left  the  room. 

"No;  he  had  best  take  nothing  whatever  during  the 
next  twenty-four  hours  except  his  medicine  and  cooling 
drinks.  The  great  thing  is  to  get  down  the  fever.  We 
can  soon  build  him  up  afterward." 

By  nightfall  the  exertions  of  Dan,  Lucy,  and  Chloe 
had  made  the  house  tidy.  Beds  of  rushes  and  grass  had 
been  made  in  the  room  upstairs  for  the  women,  and  Dan 
had  no  occasion  for  one  for  himself,  as  he  was  going  to 
stop  up  with  his  master.  He,  however,  brought  a  bundle 
of  rushes  into  the  kitchen,  and  when  it  became  dark 
threw  himself  down  upon  them  for  a  few  hours'  sleep, 
Lucy  and  her  old  nurse  taking  their  place  in  Vincent's 
room,  and  promising  to  rouse  Dan  at  twelve  o'clock. 


232  WITH  LEE  IW  VIRGINIA, 

During-  the  early  part  of  the  night  Vincent  was  restless 
and  uneasy,  hut  toward  morning  he  became  more  quiet  and 
dozed  off,  and  had  but  just  awoke  when  the  doctor  drove 
up  at  ten  o'clock.  He  found  the  inflammation  and  swell- 
ing so  much  abated  that  he  was  able  at  once  to  proceed 
to  search  for  the  ball.  Ohloe  was  his  assistant.  Lucy 
felt  that  her  nerves  would  not  be  equal  to  it,  and  Dan's 
hand  shook  so  that  he  could  not  hold  the  basin.  In  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  which  seemed  to  Lucy  to  be  an  age, 
the  doctor  came  out  of  the  room. 

"There  is  the  bullet,  Miss  Kingston." 

"And  is  he  much  hurt,  sir?" 

"It  is  a  nasty  wound,"  the  doctor  replied.  "The 
collar-bone  is  badly  broken,  and  I  fancy  the  head  of  the 
bone  of  the  upper  arm,  to  put  it  in  language  you  will  un- 
derstand, is  fractured;  but  of  that  I  cannot  be  quite  sure. 
I  will  examine  it  again  to-morrow,  and  will  then  bandage 
it  in  its  proper  position.  At  present  I  have  only  put  a 
bandage  round  the  arm  and  body  to  prevent  movement. 
I  should  bathe  it  occasionally  with  warm  water,  and  you 
can  give  him  a  little  weak  broth  to-day.  I  think,  on  the 
whole,  he  is  doing  very  well.  The  feeling  that  you  are 
all  for  the  present  safe  from  detection  has  had  as  much 
to  do  with  the  abatement  of  the  fever  as  my  medicine." 

The  next  morning  the  report  was  still  satisfactory. 
The  fever  had  almost  disappeared,  and  Vincent  was  in 
good  spirits.  The  doctor  applied  the  splints  to  keep  the 
shoulder  up  in  its  proper  position,  and  then  tightly  band- 
aged it. 

"It  depends  upon  yourself  now,"  he  said,  "whether 
your  shoulders  are  both  of  the  same  width  as  before  or 
not.  If  you  will  lie  quiet,  and  give  the  broken  bones 
time  to  reunite,  I  think  I  can  promise  you  that  you  will 
be  as  straight  as  before;  but  if  not — putting  aside  the 
chances  of  inflammation — that   shoulder   will   be  lower 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  233 

than  the  other,  and  you  will  never  get  your  full  strength 
in  it  again.  Quiet  and  patience  are  the  only  medicines 
you  require,  and  as  there  can  be  no  particular  hurry  for 
you  to  get  south,  and  as  your  company  here  is  pleasant, 
and  you  have  two  good  nurses,  there  is  no  excuse  for 
your  not  being  quiet  and  contented." 

"Very  well,  doctor.  I  promise  that  unless  there  is  a 
risk  of  our  being  discovered  I  will  be  as  patient  as  you 
can  wish.  As  you  say,  I  have  everything  to  make  me 
contented  and  comfortable." 

The  doctor  had  a  chat  with  Lucy,  and  agreed  with  her 
that  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  inform  the  mistress  of 
the  house  that  there  were  strangers  there.  Some  of  the 
people  living  along  the  road  might  notice  him  going  or 
coming,  or  see  Dan  on  his  way  to  market,  and  might 
come  and  ascertain  that  the  house  was  inhabited,  and 
communicate  the  fact  to  their  old  neighbor. 

"I  will  see  her  myself,  Miss  Kingston,  and  tell  her  that 
I  have  sent  a  patient  of  mine  to  take  up  his  quarters  here. 
I  will  say  he  is  ready  to  pay  some  small  sum  weekly  as  long 
as  he  occupies  the  house.  I  have  no  doubt  she  would  be 
willing  enough  to  let  you  have  it  without  that;  for  al- 
though I  shall  say  nothing  actually  I  shall  let  her  guess 
from  my  manner  that  it  is  a  wounded  Confederate,  and 
that  will  be  enough  for  her.  Still,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
the  idea  of  getting  a  few  dollars  for  the  rent  of  an  empty 
house  will  add  to  her  patriotism.  People  of  her  class  are 
generally  pretty  close-fisted,  and  she  will  look  upon  this 
as  a  little  pocket-money.  Good-by!  I  shall  not  call  to* 
morrow,  but  will  be  round  next  day  again/' 

On  his  next  visit  the  doctor  told  Lucy  that  he  had 
arranged  the  matter  with  her  landlady,  and  that  she  was 
to  pay  a  dollar  a  week  as  rent.  "I  should  not  tell  your 
patient  about  this,"  he  said.  "It  will  look  to  him  as  if 
I  considered  his  stay  was  likely  to  be  a  long  one,  and  it 
might  fidget  him." 


234  WITH  LEE  ffl  VIRGINIA. 

"How  long  will  it  be,  doctor,  do  you  think?" 

"That  I  cannot  say.  If  all  goes  well,  he  ought  in  a 
month  to  be  fairly  cured;  but  before  starting  upon  a 
journey  which  will  tax  his  strength,  I  should  say  at  least 
six  weeks." 

Ten  days  later  Vincent  was  up,  and  able  to  get  about. 
A  pile  of  grass  had  been  heaped  up  by  the  door,  so  that 
he  could  sit  down  in  the  sun  and  enjoy  the  air.  Lucy  was 
in  high  spirits,  and  flitted  in  and  out  of  the  house,  some- 
times helping  Chloe,  at  others  talking  to  Vincent. 

"What  are  you  laughing  at?"  she  asked  as  she  came 
out  suddenly  on  one  of  these  occasions. 

"I  was  just  thinking,"  he  said,  "that  no  stranger  who 
dropped  in  upon  us  would  dream  that  we  were  not  at 
home  here.  There  is  Dan  tidying  up  the  garden;  Chloe 
is  quite  at  her  ease  in  the  kitchen,  and  you  and  I  might 
pass  very  well  for  brother  and  sister." 

"I  don't  see  any  likeness  between  us — not  a  bit." 

"No,  there  is  no  personal  likeness;  but  I  meant  in  age 
and  that  sort  of  thing.  I  think,  altogether,  we  have  a  very 
homelike  look." 

"The  illusion  would  be  very  quickly  dispelled  if  your 
stranger  put  his  head  inside  the  door.  Did  any  one  ever 
see  such  a  bare  place?" 

"Anyhow,  it's  very  comfortable,"  Vincent  said, 
"though  I  grant  that  it  would  be  improved  by  a  little 
furniture." 

"By  a  great  deal  of  furniture,  you  mean.  Why,  there 
isn't  a  chair  in  the  house,  nor  a  carpet,  nor  a  curtain, 
nor  a  cupboard,  nor  a  bed;  in  fact  all  there  is  is  the  rough 
dresser  in  the  kitchen  and  that  plank  table,  and  your 
bedstead.  I  really  think  that's  all.  Chloe  has  the  kettle 
and  two  cooking-pots,  and  there  is  the  dish  and  six  platea 
we  bought." 

"You  bought,  you  mean,"  Vincent  interrupted. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  235 

"We  bought,  sir;  this  is  a  joint  expedition.  Then, 
there  is  the  basin  and  a  pail.  I  think  that  is  the  total  of 
our  belongings." 

"Well,  you  see,  it  shows  how  little  one  can  be  quite 
comfortable  upon,"  Vincent  said.  "I  wonder  how  long 
it  will  be  before  the  doctor  gives  me  leave  to  move.  It 
is  all  very  well  for  me  who  am  accustomed  to  campaign- 
ing, but  it  is  awfully  rough  for  you." 

"Don't  you  put  your  impatience  down  to  my  account, 
at  any  rate  uutil  you  begin  to  hear  me  grumble.  It  is 
.just  your  own  restlessness,  when  you  are  pretending  you 
are  comfortable." 

"I  can  assure  you  that  I  am  not  restless,  and  that  I  am 
in  no  hurry  at  all  to  be  off  on  my  own  account.  I  am 
perfectly  contented  with  everything.  I  never  thought  I 
was  lazy  before,  but  I  feel  as  if  I  could  do  with  a  great 
deal  of  this  sort  of  thing.  You  will  see  that  you  will  be- 
come impatient  for  a  move  before  I  do." 

"We  shall  see,  sir.  Anyhow,  I  am  glad  you  have  said 
that,  because  now  whatever  you  may  feel  you  will  keep 
your  impatience  to  yourself." 

Another  four  weeks  passed  by  smoothly  and  pleasantly. 
Dan  went  into  the  village  once  a  week  to  do  the  shop- 
ping, and  the  doctor  had  reduced  his  visits  to  the  same 
number.  He  would  have  come  oftener,  for  his  visits  to 
the  lonely  cottage  amused  him;  but  he  feared  that  his 
frequent  passage  in  his  buggy  might  attract  notice.  So 
far  no  one  else  had  broken  the  solitude  of  their  lives.  If 
the  doctor's  calls  had  been  noticed,  the  neighbors  had 
not  taken  the  trouble  to  see  who  had  settled  down  in 
Jenkins'  old  place.  His  visits  were  very  welcome,  for  he 
brought  newspapers  and  books,  the  former  being  also  pur- 
chased by  Dan  whenever  he  went  into  the  village,  and 
thus  they  learned  the  course  of  events  outside. 

Since  Antietam  nothing  had  been  done  in  Northern 


236  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Virginia;  but  Burnside,  who  had  succeeded  McClellan, 
was  preparing  another  great  army,  which  was  to  march  to 
Richmond  and  crush  out  the  rebellion.  Lee  was  stand- 
ing on  the  defensive.  Along  the  whole  line  of  the 
frontier,  from  New  Orleans  to  Tennessee,  desultory 
fighting  was  going  on,  and  in  these  conflicts  the  Confed- 
erates had  generally  the  worse  of  things,  having  there  no 
generals  such  as  Lee,  Jackson,  and  Longstreet,  who  had 
made  the  army  of  Virginia  almost  invincible. 

At  the  last  of  these  visits  the  doctor  told  Vincent  that 
he  considered  he  was  nearly  sufficiently  restored  in 
health  to  be  able  to  start  on  their  journey. 

"It  is  a  much  better  job  than  I  had  expected  it  would 
turn  out.  I  was  almost  afraid  that  your  shoulder  would 
never  be  quite  square  again.  However,  as  you  can  see 
for  yourself,  it  has  come  out  quite  right;  and  although  I 
should  not  advise  you  to  put  any  great  strain  on  your  left 
arm,  I  believe  that  in  a  very  short  time  it  will  be  as 
strong  as  the  other." 

"And  now,  doctor,  what  am  I  in  debt  to  you?  Your 
kindness  cannot  be  repaid,  but  your  medical  bill  I  will 
discharge  as  soon  as  I  get  home.  We  have  not  more  than 
twenty  dollars  left  between  us,  which  is  little  enough  for 
the  journey  there  is  before  us.  You  can  rely  that  the  in- 
stant I  get  to  Richmond  I  will  send  you  the  money. 
There  is  no  great  difficulty  in  smuggling  letters  across 
the  frontier." 

"I  am  very  pleased  to  have  been  able  to  be  of  service 
to  you,"  the  doctor  said.  "I  should  not  think  of  accept- 
ing payment  for  aid  rendered  to  an  officer  of  our  army; 
but  it  will  give  me  real  pleasure  to  receive  a  letter  saying 
you  have  reached  home  in  safety.  It  is  a  duty  to  do  all 
we  can  for  the  brave  men  fighting  for  our  cause.  As  I 
have  told  you,  I  am  not  a  very  hot  partisan,  for  I  see 
faults  on  both  sides.     Still,  I  believe  in  the  principle  of 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  23? 

our  forefathers,,  that  each  State  has  its  own  government 
and  is  master  of  its  own  army,  Joining  with  the  others  for 
such  purposes  as  it  may  think  fit.  If  I  had  been  a  fight- 
ing man  I  should  certainly  have  joined  the  army  of  my 
State;  but  as  it  is,  I  hope  I  can  do  more  good  by  staying 
and  giving  such  aid  and  comfort  as  I  can  to  my  country- 
men. You  will,  I  am  sure,  excuse  my  saying  that  I  think 
you  must  let  me  aid  you  a  little  further.  I  understand 
you  to  say  that  Miss  Kingston  will  go  to  friends  in 
Georgia,  and  I  suppose  you  will  see  her  safely  there. 
Then  you  have  a  considerable  journey  to  make  to  Eich- 
mond,  and  the  sum  that  you  possess  is  utterly  inadequate 
for  all  this.  It  will  give  me  real  pleasure  if  you  will  ac- 
cept the  loan  of  one  hundred  dollars,  which  you  can  repay 
when  you  write  to  me  from  Eichmond.  You  will  need 
money  for  the  sake  of  your  companions  rather  than  your 
own.  When  you  have  once  crossed  the  line  you  will  then 
be  able  to  appear  in  your  proper  character." 

"Thank  you  greatly,  doctor.  I  will  accept  your  offer 
as  frankly  as  it  is  made.  I  had  intended  telegraphing 
for  money  as  soon  as  I  was  among  our  own  people,  but 
there  would  be  delay  in  receiving  it,  and  it  will  be  much 
more  pleasant  to  push  on  at  once." 

"By  the  way,  you  cannot  cross  at  Florence,  for  I  hear 
that  Hood  has  fallen  back  across  the  river,  the  forces  ad- 
vancing against  him  from  this  side  being  too  strong  to 
be  resisted.  But  I  think  that  this  is  no  disadvantage  to 
you,  for  it  would  have  been  far  more  difficult  to  pass  the 
Federals  and  get  to  Florence  than  to  make  for  some  point 
on  the  river  as  far  as  possible  from  the  contending 
armies." 

"We  talked  that  over  the  last  time  you  were  here, 
doctor,  and  you  know  we  agreed  it  was  better  to  run  the 
risk  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Yankee  troops  than 
into  those  of  one  of  those  partisan  bands  whose  exploits 


238  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

are  always  performed  at  a  distance  from  the  army. 
However,  if  Hood  has  retreated  across  the  Tennessee 
there  is  an  end  of  that  plan,  and  we  must  take  some 
other  route.     Which  do  you  advise?" 

"The  Yankees  will  be  strong  all  round  the  great  bend 
of  the  river  to  the  west  of  Florence  and  along  the  line  to 
the  east,  which  would,  of  course,  be  your  direct  way. 
The  passage,  however,  is  your  real  difficulty,  and  I 
should  say  that  instead  of  going  in  that  direction  you  had 
better  bear  nearly  due  south.  There  is  a  road  from 
Mount  Pleasant  that  strikes  into  the  main  road  from 
Columbia  up  to  Camden.  You  can  cross  the  river  at 
that  point  without  any  question  or  suspicion,  as  you 
would  be  merely  traveling  to  the  west  of  the  State. 
Once  across  you  could  work  directly  south,  crossing  into 
the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  from  there  take  train 
through  Alabama  to  Georgia. 

"It  seems  a  roundabout  way,  but  I  think  you  would 
find  it  far  the  safest,  for  there  are  no  armies  operating 
upon  that  line.  The  population,  at  any  rate  as  you  get 
south,  are  for  us,  and  there  are,  so  far  as  I  have  heard, 
very  few  of  these  bushwhacking  bands  about  either  on 
one  side  or  the  other.  The  difficult  part  of  the  journey 
is  that  up  to  Camden,  but  as  you  will  be  going  away  from 
the  seat  of  war  instead  of  toward  it  there  will  be  little 
risk  of  being  questioned.'5 

"I  had  thought  of  buying  a  horse  and  cart,"  Vincent 
said.  "Jogging  along  a  road  like  that  we  should  attract 
no  attention.  I  gave  up  the  idea  because  our  funds  were 
not  sufficient,  but  thanks  to  your  kindness  we  might 
manage  now  to  pick  up  something  of  the  sort." 

The  doctor  was  silent  for  a  minute. 

"If  you  will  send  Dan  over  to  me  to-morrow  afternoon 
I  will  see  what  can  be  done,"  he  said.  "It  would  cer- 
tainly be  the  safest  plan  by  far;  but  I  must  think  it  o^er. 
You  will  not  leave  before  that,  will  you?" 


WITH  LEE  IS  VIRGINIA.       '  239 

"Certainly  not,  doctor.  In  any  case  we  should  have 
stayed  another  day  to  get  a  few  more  things  for  our  jour- 
ney." 

The  next  afternoon  Dan  went  over  to  Mount  Pleasant. 
He  was  away  two  hours  longer  than  they  had  expected, 
and  they  began  to  feel  quite  uneasy  about  him,  when  the 
sound  of  wheels  was  heard,  and  Dan  appeared  coming 
along  the  road  driving  a  cart.  Vincent  gave  a  shout  of 
satisfaction,  and  Lucy  and  the  negress  ran  out  from  the 
house  in  delight. 

"Here  am  de  cart.  Me  had  to  go  to  five  miles  from  de 
town  to  get  him.  Dat  what  took  me  so  long.  Here  am 
a  letter,  sah,  from  the  doctor.  First-rate  man  dat.  Good 
man  all  ober." 

The  letter  was  as  follows: 

"My  Dear  Mr.  Wingfield:  I  did  not  see  how  you 
would  be  able  to  buy  a  cart,  and  I  was  sure  that  you 
could  not  obtain  one  with  the  funds  in  your  possession. 
As  from  what  you  have  said  I  knew  that  you  would  not  in 
the  least  mind  the  expense,  I  have  taken  the  matter  upon 
myself,  and  have  bought  from  your  landlady  a  cart  and 
horse,  which  will,  I  think,  suit  you  well.  I  have  paid  for 
them  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  you  can  remit 
me  with  the  hundred  I  handed  you  yesterday.  Sincerely 
trusting  that  you  may  succeed  in  carry  out  your  plans  in 
safety,  and  with  kind  regards  to  yourself  and  Miss  Kings- 
ton, I  remain,  yours  truly, 

"James  Spencer." 

"That  is  a  noble  fellow/'  Vincent  said,  "and  I  trust, 
for  his  sake  as  well  as  our  own,  that  we  shall  get  safely 
through.  Now,  Lucy,  I  think  you  had  better  go  into 
the  town  the  first  thing  and  buy  some  clothes  of  good 
homely  fashion.  What  with  the  water  and  the  bushes 
your  dress  is  grievously  dilapidated,  to  say  the  least  of  it. 
Dan  can  go  with  you  and  buy  a  suit  for  me — those  fitted 
for  a  young  farmer.     We  shall  look  like  a  young  farmer 


240  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

and  his  sister  jogging  comfortably  along  to  market;  we 
can  stop  and  buy  a  stock  of  goods  at  some  farm  on  the 
way." 

"That  will  be  capital,"  the  girl  said.  "I  have  been 
greatly  ashamed  of  my  old  dress,  but  knowing  we  were 
running  so  short,  and  that  every  dollar  was  of  conse- 
quence, I  made  the  best  of  it;  now  that  we  are  in  funds 
we  can  afford  to  be  respectable." 

Lucy  started  early  the  next  morning  for  the  town,  and 
the  shopping  was  satisfactorily  accomplished.  They  re- 
turned by  eleven  o'clock.  The  new  purchases  were  at 
once  donned,  and  half  an  hour  later  they  set  off  in  the 
cart,  Vincent  sitting  on  the  side  driving,  Lucy  in  the 
corner  facing  him  on  a  basket  turned  topsy-turvy,  Dan 
and  Ohloe  on  a  thick  bag  of  rushes  in  the  bottom  of  the 
cart. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  24] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ACROSS   THE   BORDER. 

Dak  on  his  return  with  the  cart  had  brought  back  a 
message  from  its  late  owner  to  say  that  if  she  could  in 
any  way  be  of  use  to  them  she  should  be  glad  to  aid  them. 
Her  farm  lay  on  the  road  they  were  now  following,  and 
they  determined  therefore  to  stop  there.  As  the  cart 
drew  up  at  the  door  the  woman  came  out. 

"Glad  to  see  you/'  she  said;  "come  right  in.  It'a 
strange  now  you  should  have  been  lodging  in  my  house 
for  more  than  six  weeks  and  I  should  never  have  set  eyes 
on  you  before.  The  doctor  talked  to  me  a  heap  about 
you,  but  I  didn't  look  to  see  quite  such  a  young  couple." 

Lucy  colored  hotly  and  was  about  to  explain  that  they 
did  not  stand  in  the  supposed  relationship  to  each  other, 
but  Vincent  slightly  shook  his  head.  It  was  not  worth 
while  to  undeceive  the  woman,  and  although  they  had 
agreed  to  pass  as  brother  and  sister  Vincent  was  deter- 
mined not  to  tell  an  untruth  about  it  unless  deceit  was 
absolutely  necessary  for  their  safety. 

"And  you  want  to  get  out  of  the  way  without  ques« 
tions  being  asked,  I  understand?"  the  woman  went  on. 
"There  are  many  such  about  at  present.  I  don't  want 
to  ask  no  questions;  the  war  has  brought  trouble  enough 
on  me.  Now,  is  there  anything  I  can  do?  if  so,  say  it 
right  out." 

"Yes,  there  is  something  you  can  do  for  us.  We  want 
to  fill  up  our  cart  with  the  sort  of   stuff  you  take  to 


242  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

market — apples  and  pumpkins,  and  things  of  that  sort. 
If  we  had  gone  to  buy  them  anywhere  else  there  might 
have  been  questions  asked.  From  what  the  doctor  said 
you  can  let  us  have  some." 

"I  can  do  that.  The  storeroom's  chock  full;  and  it 
was  only  a  few  days  ago  I  said  to  David  it  was  time  we  set 
about  getting  them  off.  I  will  fill  your  cart,  sir;  and  not 
overcharge  you  neither.  It  will  save  us  the  trouble  of' 
taking  it  over  to  Columbia  or  Camden,  for  there's  plenty 
of  garden  truck  round  Mount  Pleasant,  and  one  cannot 
get  enough  to  pay  for  the  trouble  of  taking  them  there." 

The  cart  was  soon  filled  with  apples,  pumpkins,  and 
other  vegetables,  and  the  pri^v  puc  upon  them  was  very 
moderate. 

"What  ought  we  to  ask  for  ir^ne?"  Vincent  soon  in- 
quired.    "One  does  not  want  to  be  extra  cheap  or  dear." 

The  woman  informed  them  of  the  prices  they  might 
expect  to  get  for  the  produce;  and  they  at  once  started 
amid  many  warm  good  wishes  from  her. 

Before  leaving  the  farm  the  woman  had  given  them  a 
letter  to  her  sister  who  lived  a  mile  from  Camden. 

"It's  always  awkward  stopping  at  a  strange  place,"  she 
said,  "and  farmers  don't  often  put  up  at  hotels  when 
they  drive  in  with  garden  truck  to  a  town,  though  they 
may  do  so  sometimes;  besides  it's  always  nice  being  with, 
friends.  I  will  write  a  line  to  Jane  and  tell  her  you  have 
been  my  tenants  at  Woodford  and  where  you  are  going, 
and  ask  her  to  take  you  in  for  the  night  and  give  you  a 
Jiote  in  the  morning  to  any  one  she  or  her  husband  may 
know  a  good  bit  along  that  road." 

When  they  reached  the  house  it  was  dark,  but  directly 
Vincent  showed  the  note  the  farmer  and  his  wife  heartily 
bade  them  come  in. 

"Your  boy  can  put  up  the  horse  at  the  stable,  and  you 
are  heartily  welcome.     But  the  house  is  pretty  full,  and 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  243 

we  can't  make  you  as  comfortable  as  we  should  wish  at 
night;  but  still  we  will  do  our  best." 

Vincent  and  Lucy  were  soon  seated  by  the  fire.  Their 
hostess  bustled  about  preparing  supper  for  them,  and  the 
children,  of  whom  the  house  seemed  full,  stared  shyly  at 
the  newcomers.  As  soon  as  the  meal  was  over  Chloe's 
wants  were  attended  to,  and  a  hunch  of  bread  and  bacon 
taken  out  by  the  farmer  to  Dan  in  the  stables.  The  chil- 
dren were  then  packed  off  to  bed,  and  the  farmer  and  his 
wife  joined  Vincent  and  Lucy  by  the  fire. 

"As  to  sleeping,"  the  woman  said,  "John  and  I  have 
been  talking  it  over,  and  the  best  way  we  can  see  is  that 
you  should  sleep  with  me,  ma'am  and  we  will  make  up  a 
bed  on  the  floor  here  for  my  husband  and  yours." 

"Thank  you — that  will  do  very  nicely;  though  I  don't 
like  interfering  with  your  arrangements." 

"Not  at  all,  ma'am,  not  at  all,  it  makes  a  nice  change 
having  some  one  come  in,  especially  of  late,  when  there 
•  is  no  more  pleasure  in  going  about  in  this  country,  and 
people  don't  go  out  after  dark  more  than  they  can  help. 
Ah!  it's  a  bad  time.  My  sister  says  you  are  going  west, 
but  I  see  you  have  got  your  cart  full  of  garden  truck. 
How  you  have  raised  it  so  soon  I  don't  know;  for  Liza 
wrote  to  me  two  months  since  as  she  hadn't  been  able  to 
sell  her  place,  and  it  was  just  a  wilderness.  Are  you  go- 
ing to  get  rid  of  it  at  Camden  to-morrow?" 

Vincent  had  already  been  assured  as  to  the  politics  of 
his  present  host  and  hostess,  and  he  therefore  did  not 
hesitate  to  say: 

"The  fact  is,  madam,  we  are  anxious  to  get  along  with- 
out being  questioned  by  any  Yankee  troops  we  may  fall 
in  with;  and  we  have  bought  the  things  you  see  in  the 
cart  from  your  sister,  as,  going  along  with  a  cart  full, 
any  one  we  met  would  take  us  for  farmers  living  close  by 
on  their  road  to  the  next  market-town." 


24:4  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"Oh,  oh!  that's  it!"  the  farmer  said  significantly, 
46 Want  to  get  through  the  lines,  eh?" 

Vincent  nodded. 

"Didn't  I  think  so!"  the  farmer  said,  rubbing  his 
hands.  "I  thought  directly  my  eyes  hit  upon  you  that 
you  did  not  look  the  cut  of  a  granger.  Been  fighting — ■ 
eh?  and  they  are  after  you?" 

"I  don't  think  they  are  after  me  here,"  Vincent  said. 
"But  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  fighting  with  Jackson 
and  Stuart;  and  I  am  just  getting  over  a  colla,r-bone 
which  was  smashed  by  a  Yankee  bullet." 

"You  don't  say!"  the  farmer  exclaimed.  ""Well,  I 
should  have  gone  out  myself  if  it  hadu't  been  for  Jane 
and  the  children.  But  there  are  such  a  lot  of  them  that 
I  could  not  bring  myself  to  run  the  chance  of  leaving 
them  all  on  her  hands.  Still,  I  am  with  them  heart  and 
soul." 

"Your  wife's  sister  told  me  that  you  were  on  the  right 
side,"  Vincent  said,  "and  that  I  could  trust  you  alto- 
gether." 

"Now,  if  you  tell  me  which  road  you  want  to  go,  I 
don't  mind  if  I  get  on  my  horse  to-morrow  and  ride  with 
you  a  stage,  and  see  you  put  for  the  night.  I  know  a 
heap  of  people,  and  I  am  sure  to  be  acquainted  with  some 
one  whichever  road  you  may  go.  We  are  pretty  near  all 
the  right  side  about  here,  though,  as  you  get  further  on, 
there  are  lots  of  Northern  men.  Now,  what  are  your 
ideas  as  to  the  roads?" 

Vincent  told  him  the  route  he  intended  to  take. 

"You  ought  to  get  through  there  right  enough,"  the 
farmer  said.  "There  are  some  Yankee  troops  moving 
about  to  the  west  of  the  river,  but  not  many  of  them; 
and  even  if  you  fell  in  with  them,  with  your  cargo  of 
stuff  they  would  not  suspect  you.  Anyhow,  I  expect  we 
can  get  you   passed   down   so  as  always  to   be  among 


with  ijurjh  rjs  viH&nriA.  245 

friends.  So  you  fought  under  Jackson  and  Stuart,  did 
you?  Ah,  they  have  done  well  in  Virginia!  I  only  wish 
we  had  such  men  here.  What  made  you  take  those  two 
darkies  along  v/ith  you?  I  should  have  thought  you 
would  have  got  along  better  by  yourself." 

"We  couldn't  very  well  leave  them,"  Vincent  said; 
"the  boy  has  been  with  me  all  through  the  war,  and  is 
as  true  as  steel.  Old  Chloe  was  Lucy's  nurse,  and  would 
have  broken  her  heart  had  she  been  left  behind." 

"They  are  faithful  creatures  when  they  are  well 
treated.  Mighty  few  of  them  have  run  av/ay  all  this  time 
from  their  masters,  though  in  the  parts  the  Yankees 
hold  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  their  bolting  if  they  have 
a  mind  to  it.  I  haven't  got  no  niggers  myself.  I  tried 
them,  but  they  want  more  looking  after  than  they  are 
worth;  and  I  can  make  a  shift  with  my  boys  to  help  me, 
and  hiring  a  hand  in  busy  times  to  work  the  farm.  Now, 
sir,  what  do  you  think  of  the  lookout?" 

The  subject  of  the  war  fairly  started,  his  host  talked 
until  midnight,  long  before  which  hour  Lucy  and  the 
farmer's  wife  had  gone  off  to  bed. 

"We  will  start  as  soon  as  it  is  light,"  the  farmer  said, 
as  he  and  Vincent  stretched  themselves  upon  the  heap  of 
straw  covered  with  blankets  that  was  to  serve  as  their 
bed,  Chloe  having  hours  before  gone  up  to  share  the  bed 
of  the  negro  girl  who  assisted  the  farmer's  wife  in  her 
management  of  the  house  and  children. 

"It's  best  to  get  through  Camden  before  people  are 
about.  There  are  Yankee  soldiers  at  the  bridge,  but  it 
will  be  all  right  you  driving  in,  however  early,  to  sell 
your  stuff.  Going  out  you  ain't  likely  to  meet  with 
Yankees;  but  as  it  would  look  queer,  you  taking  your 
garden  truck  out  of  the  town,  it's  just  as  well  to  be  on 
the  road  before  people  are  about.  Once  you  get  five  or 
six  miles  the  other  side  you  might  be  going  to  the  next 
place  to  sell  your  stuff." 


246  WITH  LEE  III  VIRGINIA. 

"That  .".■;  just  what  I  have  been  thinking,"  Vincent 
said,  "and  I  p^'ree  with  you  the  earlier  we  get  through 
Camden  the  better." 

Accordingly  as  soon  as  daylight  appeared  the  horse  was 
put  in  the  cart,  the  farmer  mounting  his  own  animal,  and 
with  a  hearty  good-by  from  his  wife  the  party  started 
away.  The  Yankee  sentinels  at  each  end  of  the  bridge  were 
passed  without  questions,  for  early  as  it  was  the  carts 
were  coming  in  with  farm  produce!  As  yet  the  streets  of 
the  town  were  almost  deserted,  and  the  farmer,  who  be- 
fore starting  had  tossed  a  tarpaulin  into  the  back  of  the 
cart,  said: 

"Now,  pull  that  oyer  all  that  stuff,  and  then  any  one 
that  meets  us  will  think  that  you  are  taking  out  bacon 
and  groceries  and  such  like  for  some  s'  ■:..  j  way  off." 

This  suggestion  was  carried  out,  and  Camden  was  soon 
left  behind.  A  few  carts  were  met  as  they  drove  along. 
The  farmer  knew  some  of  the  drivers  and  pulled  up  to 
say  a  few  words  to  them.  After  a  twenty-mile  drive  they 
stopped  at  another  farm,  where  their  friend's  introduc- 
tion insured  them  as  cordial  a  welcome  as  that  upon  the 
preceding  evening.  So  step  by  step  they  journeyed  on, 
escorted  in  almost  every  case  by  their  host  of  the  night 
before,  and  meeting  with  no  interruption.  Once  they 
passed  a  strong  body  of  Federal  cavalry,  but  these  sup- 
posing that  the  party  belonged  to  the  neighborhood  asked 
no  questions;  and  at  last,  after  eight  days'  traveling, 
they  passed  two  posts  which  marked  the  boundary  be- 
tween Tennessee  and  Alabama. 

For  the  last  two  days  they  had  been  beyond  the  point 
to  which  the  Federal  troops  had  penetrated.  They  now 
felt  that  all  risk  was  at  an  end.  Another  day's  journey 
brought  them  to  a  railway  station,  and  they  learned  that 
the  trains  were  running  as  usual,  although  somewhat  ir- 
regular as  to  the  hours  at  which  they  came  along  or  as  to 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  247 

the  time  they  took  upon  their  journey.  The  contents  of 
the  cart  had  been  left  at  the  farm  at  which  they  stopped 
the  night  before,  and  Vincent  had  now  no  difficulty  in 
disposing  of  the  horse  and  cart,  as  he  did  not  stand  out 
for  price,  but  took  the  first  offer  made.  Two  hours  later 
a  train  came  along,  and  the  party  were  soon  on  their  way 
to  the  east.  After  many  hours'  traveling  they  reached 
Rome,  in  Georgia,  and  then  proceeded  by  the  Southern 
line  a  few  miles  to  Macon,  at  which  place  they  alighted 
and  hired  a  conveyance  to  take  them  to  Antioch,  near 
which  place  Lucy's  relatives  resided. 

The  latter  part  of  the  journey  by  rail  had  been  a  silent 
one.  Lucy  felt  none  of  the  pleasure  that  she  had  ex- 
pected at  finding  herself  safely  through  her  dangers  and 
upon  the  point  of  joining  relations  who  would  be  de- 
lighted to  see  her,  and  she  sat  looking  blankly  out  of  the 
window  at  the  surrounding  country.  At  last  Vincent, 
who  had  been  half  an  hour  without  speaking,  said: 

"Are  you  sorry  our  journey  is  just  over,  Lucy?" 

The  girl's  lip  quivered,  but  she  did  not  speak  for  a  mo- 
ment. "Of  course  it  is  unpleasant  saying  good-by  when 
people  have  been  together  for  some  time,"  she  said  with 
an  effort. 

"I  hope  it  will  not  be  good-by  for  long,"  he  said.  "I 
shall  be  back  here  as  soon  as  this  horrible  war  is  over." 

"What for?"  the  girl  asked,  looking  round  in  surprise. 
"You  live  a  long  way  from  here,  and  you  told  me  you 
knew  nobody  in  these  parts." 

"I  know  you,"  Vincent  said,  "and  that  is  quite 
enough.     Do  you  not  know  that  I  love  you?" 

The  girl  gave  a  start  of  surprise,  her  cheek  flushed, 
but  her  eyes  did  not  drop  as  she  looked  frankly  at  him. 

"No,  Vin,"  she  said  after  a  pause,  "I  never  once 
thought  you  loved  me,  never  once.  You  have  not  been 
a  bit  like  what  I  thought  people  were  when  they  felt  like 
that-" 


248  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  hope  not,  Lucy.  I  was  your  protector  then,  that  is 
to  say  when  you  were  not  mine.  Your  position  has  been 
trying  enough,  and  I  should  have  been  a  blackguard  if  I 
had  made  it  more  uncomfortable  than  it  was  by  showing 
you  that  I  cared  for  you.  I  have  tried  my  best  to  be 
what  people  thought  me — your  brother;  but  now  that  you 
are  just  home  and  among  your  own  people,  I  think  I  may 
speak  and  tell  you  how  I  feel  toward  you  and  how  I  have 
loved  you  since  the  moment  I  first  saw  you.  And  you, 
Lucy,  do  you  think  you  could  care  for  me?" 

"Not  more  than  I  do  now,  Vin.  I  love  you  with  all 
my  heart.  I  have  been  trying  so  hard  to  believe  that  I 
didn't,  because  I  thought  you  did  not  care  for  me  that 
way." 

For  some  minutes  no  further  word  was  spoken.  Vin- 
cent was  the  first  to  speak: 

"It  is  horrid  to  have  to  sit  here  in  this  stiff,  unnatural 
way,  Lucy,  when  one  is  inclined  to  do  something  outra- 
geous from  sheer  happiness.  These  long,  open  cars, 
where  people  can  see  from  end  to  end  what  every  one  is 
doing,  are  hateful  inventions.  It  is  perfectly  absurd, 
when  one  finds  one's  self  the  happiest  fellow  living,  that 
one  is  obliged  to  look  as  demure  and  solemn  as  if  one  was 
in  church." 

"Then  you  should  have  waited,  sir,"  the  girl  said. 

"I  meant  to  have  waited,  Lucy,  until  I  got  to  your 
home,  but  directly  I  felt  that  there  was  no  longer  any 
harm  in  my  speaking,  out  it  came;  but  it's  very  hard  to 
have  to  wait  for  hours  perhaps." 

"To  wait  for  what?"  Lucy  asked  demurely. 

"You  must  wait  for  explanations  until  we  are  alone, 
Lucy.  And  now  I  think  the  train  begins  to  slacken,  and 
it  is  the  next  station  at  which  we  get  out. 

"I  think,  Lucy,"  Vincent  said,  when  they  approached 
the  house  of  her  relatives,  "you  and  Chloe  had  better  get 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  249 

out  and  go  in  by  yourselves  and  tell  your  story.  Dan  and 
I  will  go  to  the  inn,  and  I  will  come  round  in  an  hour. 
If  we  were  to  walk  in  together  like  this  it  would  be  next 
to  impossible  for  you  to  explain  how  it  all  came  about." 

"I  think  that  would  be  the  best  plan.  My  two  aunts 
are  the  kindest  creatures  possible,  but  no  doubt  they  will 
be  bewildered  at  seeing  me  so  suddenly.  I  do  think  it 
would  be  best  to  let  me  have  a  talk  with  them  and  tell 
them  all  about  it  before  you  appear  upon  the  scene." 

"Very  well,  then,  in  an  hour  I  will  come  in." 

When  they  arrived  at  the  gate,  therefore,  Vincent 
helped  Lucy  and  Chloe  to  alight,  and  then  jumping  into 
the  buggy  again  told  the  driver  to  take  him  to  the  inn. 

Having  engaged  a  room  and  indulged  in  a  thorough 
wash  Vincent  sallied  out  into  the  little  town,  and  was 
fortunate  enough  to  succeed  in  purchasing  a  suit  of 
tweed  clothes,  which,  although  they  scarcely  fitted  him 
as  if  they  had  been  made  for  him,  were  still  an  immense 
improvement  upon  the  rough  clothes  in  which  he  had 
traveled.  Keturning  to  the  hotel  he  put  on  his  new  pur- 
chases, and  then  walked  to  the  house  of  Lucy's  aunts, 
which  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile  outside  the  town. 

Lucy  had  walked  up  the  little  path  through  the  garden 
in  front  of  the  house,  and  turning  the  handle  of  the  door 
had  entered  unannounced  and  walked  straight  into  the 
parlor.  Two  elderly  ladies  rose  with  some  surprise  at 
the  entry  of  a  strange  visitor.  It  was  three  years  since 
she  had  paid  her  last  visit  there,  and  for  a  moment  they 
did  not  recognize  her. 

"Don't  you  know  me,  aunts?" 

"Why,  goodness  me!"  the  eldest  exclaimed,  "if  it  isn't 
our  little  Lucy  grown  into  a  woman!  My  dear  child, 
where  have  you  sprung  from?"  And  the  two  ladies 
warmly  embraced  their  niece,  who,  as  soon  as  they  re- 
leased her  from  their  arms,  burst  into  a  fit  of  crying,  and 


250  WITS  LEE  IW  VIRGINIA. 

it  was  some  time  before  she  could  answer  the  questions 
showered  upon  her. 

"It  is  nothing  aunts/'  she  said  at  last,  wiping  her 
eyes;  "but  I  am  so  glad  to  be  with  you  again,  and  I  have 
gone  through  so  much,  and  I  am  so  happy,  and  it  is  so 
nice  being  with  you  again.  Here  is  Chloe  waiting  to 
speak  to  you,  aunts.     She  has  come  with  me  all  the  way." 

The  old  negress,  who  had  been  waiting  in  the  passage, 
was  now  called  in. 

"Why,  Chloe,  you  look  no  older  than  when  you  went 
away  from  here  six  years  ago/'  Miss  Kingston  said. 
"But  how  ever  did  you  both  get  through  the  lines?  We 
have  been  terribly  anxious  about  you.  Your  brother  was 
here  only  a  fortnight  ago,  and  he  and  your  father  were 
in  a  great  way  about  you,  and  reproached  themselves  bit- 
terly that  they  did  not  send  you  to  us  before  the  troubles 
began,  which  certainly  would  have  been  a  wiser  step,  as  I 
told  them.  Of  course  your  brother  said  that  when  they 
left  you  to  join  the  army  they  had  no  idea  that  matters 
were  going  so  far,  or  that  the  Yankees  would  drive  us 
out  of  Tennessee,  or  they  would  never  have  dreamed  of 
leaving  you  alone.  However,  here  you  are,  so  now  tell 
me  all  about  it." 

Lucy  told  the  story  of  the  various  visits  of  the  Federal 
bushwhackers  to  the  house,  and  how  they  had  narrowly 
escaped  death  for  refusing  to  betray  the  Confederate 
officer  who  had  come  to  the  house  for  food.  Her  recital 
was  frequently  interrupted  by  exclamations  of  indigna- 
tion and  pity  from  her  aunts. 

"Well,  aunts,  after  that,"  she  went  on,  "you  see  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  stop  there  any  longer.  No  doubt 
they  came  back  again  a  few  hours  afterward  and  burned  the 
house,  and  had  I  been  found  there  I  should  have  been  sure 
to  be  burned  in  it,  so  Chloe  agreed  with  me  that  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  try  and  get  through  the  lines  and 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  251 

come  to  you.  There  was  no  way  of  my  getting  my  liv- 
ing at  Nashville  except  by  going  out  as  a  help,  and  there 
might  have  been  some  difficulties  about  that." 

"Quite  right,  my  dear.  It  was  clearly  the  best  thing 
for  you  to  come  to  us — indeed,  the  only  thing.  But  how 
in  the  world  did  you  two  manage  to  travel  alone  all  that 
distance  and  get  through  the  Federal  Knes?" 

"You  see,  we  were  not  alone,  aunts,"  Lucy  said;  "the 
Confederate  officer  and  his  servant  were  coming  through, 
and  of  course  they  took  care  of  us.  We  could  never 
have  got  through  alone,  and  as  Chloe  was  with  me  we  got 
on  very  nicely;  but  we  have  been  a  long  time  getting 
through,  for  in  that  fight,  where  he  saved  my  life  and 
killed  five  of  the  band,  he  had  his  shoulder  broken  by  a 
pistol  bullet,  and  we  had  to  stop  in  a  farmhouse  near 
Mount  Pleasant,  and  he  was  very  ill  for  some  time,  but 
the  doctor  who  attended  him  was  a  true  Southerner  and 
so  we  were  quite  safe  till  he  was  able  to  move  again." 

"And  who  is  this  officer,  Lucy?"  Miss  Kingston  asked 
rather  anxiously. 

"He  is  a  Virginian  gentleman,  auntie.  His  mother 
has  large  estates  near  Richmond.  He  was  in  the  cavalry 
with  Stuart  and  was  made  prisoner  while  he  was  lying 
wounded  and  insensible  at  Antietam;  and  I  think, 
auntie,  that — that" —  and  she  hesitated — "some  day  we 
are  going  to  be  married." 

"Oh,  that's  it,  is  it?"  the  old  lady  said  kindly.  "Well, 
I  can't  say  anything  about  that  until  I  see  him,  Lucy. 
Now  tell  us  the  whole  story,  and  then  we  shall  be  better 
able  to  judge  about  it.  I  don't  think,  my  dear,  that 
while  you  were  traveling  under  his  protection  he  ought 
to  have  talked  to  you  about  such  things." 

"He  didn't,  auntie;  not  until  we  were  half  a  mile  from 
the  station  here.  I  never  thought  he  cared  for  me  the 
least  bit  j  he  was  just  like  a  brother  to  me — just  like  what 


252  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Jack   would   have   been   if  he   had  been    bringing    me 
here," 

"That's  right,  my  dear;  I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  Now, 
let  us  hear  all  about  it." 

Lucy  told  the  whole  story  of  her  escape  and  her  ad- 
ventures, and  when  she  had  finished  her  aunts  nodded  to 
each  other. 

"That's  all  very  satisfactory,  Lucy.  It  was  a  difficult 
position  to  be  placed  in,  though  1  don't  see  how  it  was  to 
be  avoided,  and  the  young  man  really  seems  to  have  be- 
haved very  well.  Don't  you  think  so,  Ada?"  The 
younger  Miss  Kingston  agreed,  and  both  were  prepared 
to  receive  Vincent  with  cordiality  when  he  appeared. 

The  hour  had  been  considerably  exceeded  when  Vin- 
cent came  to  the  door.  He  felt  it  rather  an  awkward 
moment  when  he  was  ushered  into  the  presence  of  Lucy's 
aunts,  who  could  scarcely  restrain  an  exclamation  of  sur- 
prise at  his  youth,  for  although  Lucy  had  said  nothing 
about  his  age,  they  expected  to  meet  an  older  man,  the 
impression  being  gained  from  the  recital  of  his  bravery 
in  attacking  single-handed  twelve  men,  and  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  had  piloted  the  party  through  their 
dangers. 

"We  are  very  glad  to  see  you — my  sister  Ada  and  my- 
self,"  Miss  Kingston  said,  shaking  hands  cordially  with 
their  visitor.  "Lucy  has  been  telling  us  all  about  you; 
but  we  certainly  expected  from  what  you  had  gone 
through  that  you  were  older." 

"I  am  two  or  three  years  older  than  she  is,  Miss  Kings- 
ton, and  I  have  gone  through  so  much  in  the  last  three 
years  that  I  feel  older  than  I  am.  She  has  told  you,  I 
hope,  that  she  has  been  good  enough  to  promise  to  be 
my  wife  some  day?" 

"Yes,  she  has  told  us  that,  Mr.  Wingfield;  and  al- 
though we  don't  know  you  personally,  we  feel  sure — my 
sister  Ada  and  I — from  what  she  has  told  us  of  vour  be- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  253 

havior  while  you  have  been  together  that  you  are  an  hon- 
orable gentleman,  and  we  hope  and  believe  that  you  will 
make  her  happy." 

"I  will  do  my  best  to  do  so/'  Vincent  said  earnestly. 
"As  to  my  circumstances,  I  shall  in  another  year  come 
into  possession  of  estates  sufficient  to  keep  her  in  every 
comfort." 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  that  is  all  satisfactory,  Mr. 
Wingfield,  and  that  her  father  will  give  his  hearty  ap- 
proval when  he  hears  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 
Now,  if  you  will  go  into  the  next  room,  Mr.  Wingfield,  I 
will  call  her  down" — for  Lucy  had  run  upstairs  when  she 
heard  Vincent  knock. 

"I  dare  say  you  will  like  a  quiet  talk  together,"  she 
added,  smiling,  "for  she  tells  me  you  have  never  been 
alone  together  since  you  started." 

Lucy  required  several  calls  before  she  came  down.  A 
new  shyness  such  as  she  had  never  before  felt  had  seized 
her,  and  it  was  with  flushed  cheeks  and  timid  steps  that 
she  at  last  came  downstairs,  and  it  needed  an  encourag- 
ing— "Go  in,  you  silly  child,  your  lover  will  not  eat  you," 
before  she  turned  the  handle  and  went  into  the  room 
where  Vincent  was  expecting  her. 

Vincent  had  telegraphed  from  the  first  station  at 
which  he  arrived  within  the  limits  of  the  Confederacy  to 
his  mother,  announcing  his  safe  arrival  there,  and  asking 
her  to  send  money  to  him  at  Antioch.  Her  letter  in 
reply  reached  him  three  days  after  his  arrival.  It  con- 
tained notes  for  the  amount  he  wrote  for;  and  while  ex- 
pressing her  own  and  his  sisters'  delight  at  hearing  he 
had  safely  reached  the  limits  of  the  Confederacy,  she  ex- 
pressed not  a  little  surprise  at  the  out-of-the-way  place 
to  which  he  had  requested  the  money  to  be  sent. 

"We  have  been  examining  the  maps,  my  dear  boy," 
she  said,  "and  find  that  it  is  seventy  or  eighty  miles  out 


254  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

of  your  direct  course,  and  we  have  puzzled  ourselves  in 
vain  as  to  why  you  should  have  made  your  way  there. 
The  girls  guess  that  you  have  gone  there  to  deliver  in  per- 
son some  message  from  one  of  your  late  fellow-prisoners 
to  his  family.  I  am  not  good  at  guessing,  and  am  con- 
tent to  wait  until  you  return  home.  We  hope  that  you 
will  leave  as  soon  as  you  get  the  remittance.  We  shall 
count  the  hours  until  we  see  you.  Of  course  we  learned 
from  a  Yankee  paper  smuggled  through  the  lines  that 
you  had  escaped  from  prison,  and  have  been  terribly 
anxious  about  you  ever  since.  We  are  longing  to  hear 
your  adventures." 

A  few  hours  after  the  receipt  of  this  letter  Vincent 
was  on  his  way  home.  It  was  a  long  journey.  The  dis- 
tance was  considerable,  and  the  train  service  greatly  dis- 
ordered and  unpunctual.  When  within  a  few  hours  of 
Eichmond  he  telegraphed,  giving  the  approximate  time 
at  which  he  might  be  expected  to  arrive.  The  train, 
however,  did  not  reach  Richmond  until  some  hours  later. 
The  carriage  was  waiting  at  the  station,  and  the  negro 
coachman  shouted  with  pleasure  at  the  sight  of  his  young 
master. 

"Missis  and  the  young  ladies  come,  sah;  but  de  station- 
master  he  say  de  train  no  arrive  for  a  long  time,  so  dey 
wait  for  you  at  de  town  house,  sah." 

Dan  jumped  up  beside  the  coachman  and  Vincent 
leaped  into  the  carriage,  and  a  few  minutes  later  he  was 
locked  in  the  arms  of  his  mother  and  sisters. 

"You  grow  bigger  and  bigger,  Vincent,"  his  mother 
said  after  the  first  greeting  was  over.  "I  thought  you 
must  have  done  when  you  went  away  last,  but  you  are 
two  or  three  inches  taller  and  ever  so  much  wider." 

"I  think  I  have  nearly  done  now,  mother — anyhow  as 
to  height.     I  am  about  six  feet  one." 

"You  are  a  dreadful  trouble  to  us,  Vincent,"  Annie 


WITS  LEE  IJST  VIRGINIA.  255 

eaid.  "We  have  awful  anxiety  whenever  we  hear  of  a 
battle  being  fought,  and  it  was  almost  a  relief  to  us  when 
we  heard  that  you  were  in  a  Yankee  prison.  "We 
thought  at  least  you  were  out  of  danger  for  some  time; 
but  since  the  news  came  of  your  escape  it  has  been  worse 
than  ever,  and  as  week  passed  after  week  without  our 
hearing  anything  of  you  we  began  to  fear  that  something 
terrible  had  happened  to  you." 

"Nothing  terrible  has  happened  at  all,  Annie.  The 
only  mishap  I  had  was  getting  a  pistol  bullet  in  my 
shoulder  which  laid  me  up  for  about  six  weeks.  There 
was  nothing  very  dreadful  about  it/'  he  continued,  as 
exclamations  of  alarm  and  pity  broke  from  his  mother 
and  sister.  "I  was  well  looked  after  and  nursed.  And 
now  I  will  tell  you  my  most  important  piece  of  news, 
and  then  I  will  give  you  a  full  account  of  my  adventures 
from  the  time  when  Dan  got  me  out  of  prison,  for  it  is 
entirely  to  him  that  I  owe  my  liberty." 

"Well,  what  is  the  piece  of  news?"  Annie  asked. 

"Guess!"  Vincent  replied,  smiling. 

"You  have  got  promoted?"  his  mother  said.  He 
shook  his  head. 

"Is  it  about  a  lady?"  Annie  asked. 

Vincent  smiled. 

"Oh,  Vincent,  you  are  not  engaged  to  be  married! 
That  would  be  too  ridiculous!"  Vincent  laughed  and 
nodded. 

"  Annie  is  right,  mother;  I  am  engaged  to  be  married." 

Mrs.  Wingfield  looked  grave,  Rosie  laughed,  and  Annie 
threw  her  arms  round  his  neck  and  kissed  him. 

"You  dear,  silly  old  boy!"  she  said.  "I  am  glad, 
though  it  seems  so  ridiculous.  Who  is  she,  and  what  is 
she  like?" 

"We  needn't  ask  where  she  lives,"  Eosie  said.  "Of 
course  it  is  in  Antioch,  though  how  in  the  world  you 


256  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

managed  it  all  in  the  two  or  three  days  you  were  there  I 
can't  make  out." 

Mrs.  Wingfield's  brow  cleared.  "At  any  rate,  in  that 
case,  Vincent,  she  is  a  Southerner.  I  was  afraid  at  first 
it  was  some  Yankee  woman  who  had  perhaps  sheltered 
you  on  your  way." 

"Is  she  older  than  you,  Vincent?"  Annie  asked  sud- 
denly.    "I  shouldn't  like  her  to  be  older  than  you  are." 

"She  is  between  sixteen  and  seventeen,"  Vincent  re- 
plied, "and  she  is  a  Southern  girl,  mother,  and  I  am  sure 
you  will  love  her,  for  she  saved  my  life  at  the  risk  of  her 
own,  besides  nursing  me  all  the  time  I  was  ill." 

"I  have  no  doubt  I  shall  love  her,  Vincent,  fori  think, 
my  boy,  that  you  would  not  make  a  rash  choice.  I  think 
you  are  young,  much  too  young,  to  be  engaged;  still, 
that  is  a  secondary  matter.  Now  tell  us  all  about  it. 
We  expected  your  story  to  be  exciting,  but  did  not  dream 
that  love-making  had  any  share  in  it/' 

Vincent  accordingly  told  them  the  whole  story  of  his 
adventures  from  the  time  of  his  first  meeting  Dan  in. 
prison.  When  he  related  the  episode  of  Lucy's  refusal 
to  say  whether  he  would  return,  although  threatened 
with  instant  death  unless  she  did  so,  his  narrative  was 
broken  by  the  exclamations  of  his  hearers. 

"You  need  not  say  another  word  in  praise  of  her,"  his 
mother  said.  "She  is  indeed  a  noble  girl,  and  I  shall  be 
proud  of  such  a  daughter." 

"She  must  be  a  darling!"  Annie  exclaimed.  "Oh, 
Vincent,  how  brave  she  must  be!  I  don't  think  I  ever 
could  have  done  that,  with  a  pistol  pointing  straight  at 
you,  and  all  those  dreadful  men  round,  and  no  hope  of  a 
rescue;  it's  awful  even  to  think  of." 

"It  was  an  awful  moment,  as  you  may  imagine,"  Vin- 
cent replied.  "1  shall  never  forget  the  scene,  or  Lucy's 
steadfast  face  as  she  faced  that  man;  and  you  see  at  that 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  257 

time  I  was  a  perfect  stranger  to  her — only  a  fugitive 
Confederate  officer  whom  she  shielded  from  his  pur- 
suers." 

"Go  on,  Vincent;  please  go  on/'  Annie  said.  "Tell 
ns  what  happened  next." 

Vincent  continued  his  narrative  to  the  end,  with,  how- 
ever, many  interruptions  and  questions  on  the  part  of 
the  girls.  His  mother  said  little,  but  sat  holding  his 
hand  in  hers. 

"It  has  been  a  wonderful  escape,  Vincent,"  she  said 
when  he  had  finished.  "Bring  your  Lucy  here  when  you 
like,  and  I  shall  be  ready  to  receive  her  as  my  daughter, 
and  to  love  her  for  her  own  sake  as  well  as  yours.  She 
must  be  not  only  a  brave  but  a  noble  girl,  and  you  did 
perfectly  right  to  lose  not  a  single  day  after  you  had 
taken  her  safely  home  in  asking  her  to  be  your  wife.  I 
am  glad  to  think  that  some  day  the  Orangery  will  have 
so  worthy  a  mistress.  I  will  write  to  her  at  once.  You 
have  not  yet  told  us  what  she  is  like,  Vincent." 

"I  am  not  good  at  descriptions,  but  you  shall  see  her 
photograph  when  I  get  it." 

"What,  haven't  you  got  one  now?" 

"She  had  not  one  to  give  me.  You  see,  when  the 
troubles  began  she  was  little  more  than  a  child,  and  since 
that  time  she  has  scarcely  left  home,  but  she  promised  to 
have  one  taken  at  once  and  send  it  me,  and  then,  if  it  is 
a  good  likeness,  you  will  know  all  about  it." 

"Mother,  when  you  write  to-night,'"  Eosie  said, 
"please  send  her  your  photograph  and  ours,  and  say  we 
all  want  one  of  our  new  relative  that  is  to  be." 

"I  think,  my  dear,  you  can  leave  that  until  we  have 
exchanged  a  letter  or  two.  You  will  see  Vincent's  copy, 
and  can  then  wait  patiently  for  your  own." 

"And  now,  mother,  I  have  told  you  all  of  my  news;  let 
»°  hear  about  every  one  here.     How  are  all  the  old  house 


258  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA, 

hands,  and  how  is  Dinah?  Tony  is  at  Washington,  I 
know,  because  I  saw  in  the  paper  that  he  had  made  a 
sudden  attack  upon  Jacksoj?." 

Mrs.  Wingfield's  face  fell. 

"That  is  my  one  piece  of  bad  news,  Vincent.  I  wish 
you  hadn't  asked  the  question  until  to-morrow,  for  I  am 
sOrry  that  anything  should  disturb  the  pleasure  of  this 
first  meeting;  still  as  you  have  asked  the  question  I  must 
answer  it.  About  ten  days  ago  a  negro  came,  as  I  after- 
ward heard  from  Chloe,  to  the  back  entrance  and  asked 
for  Dinah.  He  said  he  had  a  message  for  her.  She  went 
and  spoke  to  him,  and  then  ran  back  and  caught  up  her 
child.  She  said  to  Chloe,  'I  have  news  of  my  husband. 
I  think  he  is  here.  I  will  soon  be  back  again.'  Then 
she  ran  out,  and  has  never  returned.  We  have  made 
every  inquiry  we  could,  but  we  have  not  liked  to  adver- 
tise for  her,  for  it  may  be  that  she  has  met  her  husband, 
and  that  he  persuaded  her  to  make  off  at  once  with  him 
to  Yorktown  or  Fortress  Monroe." 

"This  is  bad  news  indeed,  mother,"  Vincent  said. 
"No,  I  do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  she  has  gone  off 
with  Tony.  There  could  be  no  reason  why  she  should 
have  left  so  suddenly  without  telling  any  one,  for  she 
knew  well  enough  that  you  would  let  her  go  if  she  wished 
it;  and  I  feel  sure  that  neither  she  nor  Tony  would  act  so 
ungratefully  as  to  leave  us  in  this  manner.  No,  mother, 
I  feel  sure  that  this  has  been  done  by  Jackson.  You 
know  I  told  you  I  felt  uneasy  about  her  before  I  went. 
No  doubt  the  old  rascal  has  seen  in  some  Northern  paper 
an  account  of  his  son  having  been  attacked  in  the  streets 
of  Washington,  and  recaptured  by  Tony,  and  he  has  had 
Dinah  carried  off  from  a  pure  spirit  of  revenge.  Well, 
mother,"  he  went  on  in  answer  to  an  appealing  look  from 
her,  "I  will  not  put  myself  out  this  first  evening  of  my 
return,  and  will  say  no  more  about  it.     There  will  be 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  259 

plenty  of  time  to  take  the  matter  up  to-morrow.  And 
now  about  all  our  friends  and  acquaintances.  How  are 
they  getting  on?  Have  you  heard  of  any  more  of  my  old 
chums  being  killed  since  I  was  taken  prisoner  at  Antie- 
tam?" 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  before  Vmcent  heard  all  the 
news.  Fortunately,  the  list  of  casualties  in  the  army  of 
Virginia  had  been  slight  since  Antietam;  but  that  battle 
had  made  many  gaps  among  the  circle  of  their  friends, 
and  of  these  Vmcent  now  heard  for  the  first  time,  and  he 
learned  too,  that  although  no  battle  had  been  fought 
since  Antietam,  on  the  17th  of  September,  there  had 
been  a  sharp  skirmish  near  Fredericksburg,  and  that  the 
Federal  army,  now  under  General  Burnside,  who  had 
succeeded  McClellan,  was  facing  that  of  Lee,  near  that 
town,  and  that  it  was  believed  that  they  would  attempt 
to  cross  the  Eappahannock  in  a  few  days. 

It  was  not  until  he  retired  for  the  night  that  Vincent 
allowed  his  thoughts  to  turn  again  to  the  missing  woman. 
Her  loss  annoyed  and  vexed  him  much  more  than  he 
permitted  his  mother  to  see.  In  the  first  place,  the  poor 
girl's  eagerness  to  show  her  gratitude  to  him  upon  all 
occasions,  and  her  untiring  watchfulness  and  care  during 
his  illness  from  his  wound,  had  touched  him,  and  the 
thought  that  she  was  now  probably  in  the  hands  of  brutal 
taskmasters  was  a  real  pain  to  him.  In  the  next  place, 
he  had,  as  it  were,  given  his  pledge  to  Tony  that  she 
should  be  well  cared  for  until  she  could  be  sent  to  join 
him.  And  what  should  he  say  now  when  the  negro  wrote 
to  claim  her?  Then,  too,  he  felt  a  personal  injury  that 
the  woman  should  be  carried  off  when  under  his  mother's 
protection,  and  he  was  full  of  indignation  and  fury  at 
the  dastardly  revenge  taken  by  Jackson.  Upon  hearing 
the  news  he  had  at  once  mentally  determined  to  devote 
himself  for  some  time  to  a  search  for  Dinah;  but  the  news 


260  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

that  a  ^reat  battle  was  expected  at  the  front  interfered 
with  hb  plan.  Now  that  he  was  back,  capable  of  return- 
ing to  duty,  his  place  was  clearly  with  his  regiment;  but 
he  determined  that  while  he  would  rejoin  at  once,  he 
would  as  soon  as  the  battle  was  over,  if  he  were  unhurt, 
take  up  the  search.  His  mother  and  sisters  were  greatly 
distressed  when  at  breakfast  he  told  them  that  he  must 
at  once  report  himself  as  fit  for  duty,  and  ready  to  join 
his  regiment. 

"I  was  afraid  you  would  think  so,"  Mrs.  Wingfield 
said,  while  the  girls  wept  silently;  "and  much  as  I  grieve 
at  losing  you  again  directly  you  have  returned,  I  can  say 
nothing  against  it.  You  have  gone  through  many  dan- 
gers, Vincent,  and  have  been  preserved  to  us  through 
them  all.  We  will  pray  that  you  may  be  so  to  the  end. 
Still,  whether  or  not,  I  as  a  Virginian  woman  cannot 
grudge  my  son  to  the  service  of  my  country,  when  all 
other  mothers  are  making  the  same  sacrifice;  but  it  is 
hard  to  give  you  up  when  but  yesterday  you  returned  to 
ns." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  %Q\ 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

FREDERICKSBURG. 

As  soon  as  breakfast  was  over  Vincent  mounted  Wild- 
fire, which  had  been  sent  back  after  he  had  been  taken 
prisoner,  and  rode  into  Eichmond.  There  he  reported 
himself  at  headquarters  as  having  returned  after  escap- 
ing from  a  Federal  prison,  and  making  his  way  through 
the  lines  of  the  enemy. 

"I  had  my  shoulder-bone  smashed  in  a  fight  with  some 
Yankees,"  he  said,  "and  was  laid  up  in  hiding  for  six 
weeks;  but  have  now  fairly  recovered.  My  shoulder,  at 
times,  gives  me  considerable  pain,  and  although  I  am  de- 
sirous of  returning  to  duty  and  rejoining  my  regiment 
until  the  battle  at  Fredericksburg  has  taken  place,  I  must 
request  that  three  months'  leave  be  granted  to  me  after 
that  to  return  home  and  complete  my  cure,  promising  of 
course  to  rejoin  my  regiment  at  once  should  hostilities 
break  out  before  the  spring." 

"We  saw  the  news  that  you  had  escaped,"  the  general 
said,  "but  feared,  as  so  long  a  time  elapsed  without  hear- 
ing from  you,  that  you  had  been  shot  in  attempting  to 
cross  the  lines.  Your  request  for  leave  is  of  course 
granted,  and  a  note  will  be  made  of  your  zeal  in  thus  re- 
joining on  the  very  day  after  your  return.  The  vacancy 
in  the  regiment  has  been  filled  up,  but  I  will  appoint  you 
temporarily  to  General  Stuart's  staff,  and  I  shall  have 
great  pleasure  in  to-day  filling  up  your  commission  as 
captain.     Now  let  me  hear  how  you  made  your  escape. 


262  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

By  the  accounts  published  in  the  Northern  papers  ifi 
seemed  that  you  must  have  had  a  confederate  outside  ths 
avails." 

Vincent  gave  a  full  account  of  his  escape  from  prison 
and  a  brief  sketch  of  his  subsequent  proceedings,  saying 
only  that  he  was  in  the  house  of  some  loyal  people  in 
Tennessee,  when  it  was  attacked  by  a  party  of  Yankee 
bushwhackers,  that  these  were  beaten  off  in  the  fight,  but 
that  he  himself  had  a  pistol  bullet  in  his  shoulder.  He 
then  made  his  way  on  until  compelled  by  his  wound  to 
lay  up  for  six  weeks  in  a  lonely  farmhouse  near  Mount 
Pleasant;  that  afterward  in  the  disguise  of  a  young 
farmer  he  had  made  a  long  detour  across  the  Tennessee 
river  and  reached  Georgia. 

"When  do  you  leave  for  the  front,  Captain  Wingfield?" 

"I  shall  be  ready  to  start  to-night,  sir." 

"In  that  case  I  will  trouble  you  to  come  round  here 
this  evening.  There  will  be  a  fast  train  going  through 
with  ammunition  for  Lee  at  ten  o'clock,  and  I  shall  have 
a  bag  of  dispatches  for  him,  which  I  will  trouble  you  to 
deliver.  You  will  find  me  here  up  to  the  last  moment. 
I  will  give  orders  that  a  horse-box  be  put  on  to  the  train." 

After  expressing  his  thanks  Vincent  took  his  leave. 
As  he  left  the  general's  quarters,  a  young  man,  just 
alighting  from  his  horse,  gave  a  shout  of  greeting. 

"Why,  Wingfield,  it  is  good  to  see  you!  I  thought 
you  were  pining  again  in  a  Yankee  dungeon,  or  had  got 
knocked  on  the  head  crossing  the  lines.  Where  have  you 
sprung  from,  and  when  did  you  arrive?" 

"I  only  got  in  yesterday  after  sundry  adventures  which 
I  will  tell  you  about  presently.  When  did  you  arrive 
from  the  front?" 

"I  name  down  a  few  days  ago  on  a  week's  leave  on 
urgent  family  business,"  the  young  man  laughed,  "and 
1  am  going  back  again  this  afternoon  by  the  four  o'clock 
train.5 ' 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  263 

"Stay  till  ten/'  Vincent  said,  "and  we  will  go  back  to* 
gether.  There  is  a  special  train  going  through  with  an> 
munition,  and  as  everything  will  make  way  for  that  it  will 
not  be  long  behind  the  four  o'clock,  and  likely  enough  may 
pass  it  on  the  way.  There  is  a  horse-box  attached  to  it, 
and  as  I  only  take  one  horse  there  will  be  room  for 
yours." 

"I  haven't  brought  my  horse  down,"  Harry  Furniss 
said;  "but  I  will  certainly  go  with  you  by  the  ten  o'clock. 
Then  we  can  have  a  long  talk.  I  don't  think  I  have  seen 
you  since  the  day  you  asked  me  to  lend  you  my  boat  two 
years  ago." 

"Can  you  spare  me  two  hours  now?"  Vincent  asked. 
"You  will  do  me  a  very  great  favor  if  you  will." 

Harry  Furniss  looked  at  his  watch.  "It  is  eleven 
o'clock  now;  we  have  a  lot  of  people  to  lunch  at  half -past 
one,  and  I  must  be  back  by  then." 

"You  can  manage  that  easy  enough,"  Vincent  replied; 
"in  two  hours  from  the  time  we  leave  here  you  can  be  at 
home." 

"I  am  your  man,  then,  Vincent.  Just  wait  five  min- 
utes— I  have  to  see  some  one  in  here." 

A  few  minutes  later  Harry  Furniss  came  out  again  and 
mounted. 

"Now  which  way,  Vincent?  and  what  is  it  you  want 
me  for?" 

"The  way  is  to  Jackson's  place  at  the  Cedars,  the  why 
I  will  tell  you  about  as  we  ride." 

Vincent  then  recounted  his  feud  with  the  Jacksons,  of 
which,  up  to  the  date  of  the  purchase  of  Dinah  Morris, 
his  friend  was  aware,  having  been  present  at  the  sale. 
He  now  heard  of  the  attack  upon  young  Jackson  by 
Tony,  and  of  the  disappearance  of  Dinah  Morris. 

"I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised,  Wingfield,  if  your 
surmises  are  correct,  and  that  old  scoundrel  has  carried 


264  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

off  the  girl  to  avenge  himself  upon  Tony.  Of  course,  if 
you  could  prove  it,  it  would  be  a  very  serious  offense; 
for  the  stealing  a  slave,  and  by  force  too,  is  a  crime  with 
a  very  heavy  penalty,  and  has  cost  men  their  lives  before 
now.  But  I  don't  see  that  you  have  anything  like  a 
positive  proof,  however  strong  a  case  of  suspicion  it  may 
be.  I  don't  see  what  you  are  going  to  say  when  you  get 
there." 

"I  am  going  to  tell  him  that  if  he  does  not  say  what  he 
has  done  with  the  girl,  I  will  have  his  son  arrested  for 
treachery  as  soon  as  he  sets  foot  in  the  Confederacy  again." 

"Treachery!"  Furniss  said  in  surprise;  "what  treach- 
ery has  he  been  guilty  of?  I  saw  that  he  was  one  of 
those  who  escaped  with  you,  and  I  rather  wondered  at 
the  time  at  you  two  being  mixed  up  together  in  any- 
thing. I  heard  that  he  had  been  recaptured  through 
some  black  fellow  that  had  been  his  slave,  but  I  did  not 
read  the  account.    Have  you  got  proof  of  what  you  say?" 

"Perhaps  no  proof  that  would  hold  in  a  court  of  law," 
Vincent  replied,  "but  proof  enough  to  make  it  an  abso- 
lute certainty  to  my  mind." 

Vincent  then  gave  an  account  of  their  escape,  and  of 
the  anonymous  denunciation  of  himself  and  Dan. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "no  one  but  Dan  knew  of  the  in- 
tended escape,  no  one  knew  what  clothes  he  had  pur- 
chased, no  one  could  possibly  have  known  that  I  was  to 
be  disguised  as  a  preacher  and  Dan  as  my  servant.  There- 
fore the  information  must  have  been  given  by  Jackson." 

"I  have  not  the  least  doubt  but  that  the  blackguard 
did  give  it,  Wingfield;  but  there  is  no  proof." 

"I  consider  that  there  is  a  proof — an  absolute  and  posi- 
tive proof,"  Vincent  asserted,  "because  no  one  else  could 
have  known  it." 

"Well^  you  see  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  other  officer 
did  know  it,  and  might  possibly  have  given  the  informa- 
tion," 


WITS.  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  265 

"But  why  should  he?  The  idea  is  absurd.  He  had 
never  had  a  quarrel  with  me,  and  he  owed  his  liberty  to 
me." 

"Just  so,  Wingfield.  I  am  as  certain  that  it  was  Jack- 
son as  you  are,  because  I  know  the  circumstances;  but 
you  see  there  is  no  more  absolute  proof  against  one  man 
than  against  the  other.  lb  is  true  that  you  had  had  a 
quarrel  with  Jackson  some  two  years  before,  but  you  see 
you  had  made  it  up  and  had  become  friends  in  prison — 
so  much  so  that  you  selected  him  from  among  a  score  of 
others  in  the  same  room  to  be  the  companion  of  your 
flight.  You  and  I,  who  know  Jackson,  can  well  believe 
him  guilty  of  an  act  of  gross  ingratitude — of  ingratitude 
and  treachery;  but  people  who  do  not.  know  would  hardly 
credit  it  as  possible  that  a  man  could  be  such  a  villain. 
The  defense  he  would  set  up  would  be  that  in  the  first 
place  there  is  no  shadow  of  evidence  that  he  more  than 
the  other  turned  traitor.  In  the  second  place  he  would 
be  sure  to  say  that  such  an  accusation  against  a  Confed- 
erate officer  is  too  monstrous  and  preposterous  to  be  en- 
tertained for  a  moment;  and  that  doubtless  your  negro, 
although  he  denies  the  fact,  really  chattered  about  his 
doings  to  the  negroes  he  was  lodging  with,  and  that  it 
was  through  them  that  some  one  got  to  know  of  the  dis- 
guise you  would  wear.  We  know  that  it  wasn't  so, 
Wingfield;  but  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  white 
men  in  the  South  would  rather  believe  that  a  negro  had 
chattered  than  that  a  Confederate  officer  had  been  guilty 
of  a  gross  act  of  treachery  and  ingratitude.'" 

Vincent  was  silent.  He  felt  that  what  his  companion 
said  was  the  truth;  and  that  a  weapon  by  which  he  had 
hoped  to  force  the  elder  Jackson  into  saying  what  he  had 
done  with  Dinah  would  probably  fail  in  its  purpose.  The 
old  man  was  too  astute  not  to  perceive  that  there  was  no 
real  proof  against  his  son,  and  would  therefore  be  un- 


266  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

likely  at  once  to  admit  that  he  had  committed  a  serious 
crime,  and  to  forego  his  revenge. 

"I  will  try  at  any  rate/'  he  said  at  last;  "and  if  he  re- 
fuses I  will  publish  the  story  in  the  papers.  When  the 
fellow  gets  back  from  Yankee -land  he  may  either  call  me 
out  or  demand  a  court  of  inquiry.  I  may  not  succeed  in 
getting  a  verdict  from  twelve  white  men,  but  I  think  I 
can  convince  every  one  of  our  own  class  that  the  fellow  did 
it;  and  when  this  battle  that  is  expected  is  over  I  have  got 
three  months'  leave,  and  I  will  move  heaven  and  earth  to 
find  the  woman;  and  if  I  do,  Jackson  will  either  have  to 
bolt  or  stand  a  trial,  with  the  prospect  of  ten  years'  im- 
prisonment if  he  is  convicted.  In  either  case  we  are  not 
likely  to  have  his  son  about  here  again;  and  if  he  did 
venture  back  and  brought  an  action  against  me,  his 
chance  of  getting  damages  would  be  a  small  one." 

Another  half-hour's  ride  brought  them  to  the  Cedars. 
They  dismounted  at  the  house,  and  fastening  their  horses 
to  the  portico  knocked  at  the  door.  It  was  opened  by  a 
negro. 

"Tell  your  master,"  Vincent  said,  "that  Mr.  Wingfield 
wishes  to  speak  to  him." 

Andrew  Jackson  himself  came  to  the  door. 

"To  what  do  I  owe  the  very  great  pleasure  of  this  visit, 
Mr.  Wingfield?"  he  said  grimly. 

"I  have  come  to  ask  you  what  you  have  done  with 
Dinah  Morris,  whom,  I  have  every  ground  for  believing, 
you  have  caused  to  be  kidnaped  from  my  mother's  house." 

"This  is  a  serious  charge,  young  gentleman,"  Andrew 
Jackson  said,  "and  one  that  I  shall  call  upon  you  to  jus- 
tify in  the  law-courts.  Men  are  not  to  be  charged  with 
criminal  actions  even  by  young  gentlemen  of  good  Vir- 
ginian families." 

"I  shall  be  quite  ready  to  meet  you  there,  Mr.  Jack- 
con,  whenever  you  choose;  but  my  visit  here  is  rather  to 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  267 

give  you  an  opportunity  of  escaping  the  consequences 
that  will  follow  your  detection  as  the  author  of  the 
crime;  for  I  warn  you  that  I  will  bring  the  crime  home 
to  you,  whatever  it  costs  me  in  time  and  money.  My 
offer  is  this:  produce  the  woman  and  her  child,  and  not 
only  shall  no  prosecution  take  place,  but  I  will  remain 
silent  concerning  a  fact  which  affects  the  honor  of  your 
son." 

Andrew  Jackson's  face  had  been  perfectly  unmoved 
during  this  conversation  until  he  heard  the  allusion  to 
his  son.     Then  his  face  changed  visibly. 

"I  know  nothing  concerning  which  you  can  attack  the 
honor  of  my  son,  Mr.  Wingneld,"  he  said,  with  an  effort 
to  speak  as  unconcernedly  as  before. 

"My  charge  is  as  follows/'  Vincent  said  quietly:  "I 
was  imprisoned  at  Elmira  with  a  number  of  other  officers, 
among  them  your  son.  Thinking  that  it  was  time  for 
the  unpleasantness  that  had  been  existing  between  us  to 
come  to  an  end,  I  offered  him  my  hand.  This  he  ac- 
cepted and  we  became  friends.  A  short  time  afterward 
a  mode  of  escape  offered  itself  to  me,  and  I  proved  the 
sincerity  of  my  feelings  toward  him  by  offering  to  him 
and  another  officer  the  means  of  sharing  my  escape.  This 
they  accepted.  Once  outside  the  walls,  I  furnished  them 
with  disguises  that  had  been  prepared  for  them,  assuming 
myself  that  of  a  minister.  We  then  separated,  going  in 
different  directions,  I  myself  being  accompanied  by  my 
negro  servant,  to  whose  fidelity  I  owed  our  escape.  Two 
days  afterward  an  anonymous  writer  communicated  to 
the  police  the  fact  that  I  had  escaped  in  the  disguise  of  a 
minister,  and  was  accompanied  by  my  black  servant. 
This  fact  was  only  known  to  the  negro,  myself,  and  the 
two  officers.  My  negro,  who  had  released  me,  was  cer- 
tainly not  my  betrayer;  the  other  officer  could  certainly 
have  had  no  possible  motive  for  betraying  me.     There 


268  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

remains,  therefore,  only  your  son,  whose  hostility  to  me 
was  notorious,  and  who  had  expressed  himself  with  bit- 
terness against  me  on  many  occasions,  and  among  others 
in  the  hearing  of  my  friend  Mr.  Furniss  here.  Such  be- 
ing the  case,  it  is  my  intention  to  charge  him  before  the 
military  authorities  with  this  act  of  treachery.  But,  as  I 
have  said,  I  am  willing  to  forego  this  and  to  keep  silence 
as  to  your  conduct  with  reference  to  my  slave  Dinah 
Morris,  if  you  will  restore  her  and  her  child  uninjured  to 
the  house  from  which  you  caused  her  to  be  taken." 

The  sallow  cheeks  of  the  old  planter  had  grown  a  shade 
paler  as  he  listened  to  Vincent's  narrative,  but  he  now 
burst  out  in  angry  tones: 

"How  dare  you,  sir,  bring  such  an  infamous  accusation 
against  my  son — an  accusation,  like  that  against  myself, 
wholly  unsupported  by  a  shred  of  evidence?  Doubtless 
your  negro  had  confided  to  some  of  his  associates  his  plans 
for  assisting  you  to  escape  from  prison,  and  it  is  from  one 
of  these  that  the  denunciation  has  come.  Go,  sir,  report 
where  you  will  what  lies  and  fables  you  have  invented; 
but  be  assured  that  I  and  my  son  will  seek  our  compensa- 
tion for  such  gross  libels  in  the  courts." 

"Very  well,  sir,"  Vincent  said,  as  he  prepared  to 
mount  his  horse;  "if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  in 
the  papers  to-morrow,  you  will  see  that  your  threats  of 
action  for  libel  have  no  effect  whatever  upon  me." 

"The  man  is  as  hard  as  a  rock,  Wingfield,"  Furniss 
said,  as  they  rode  off  together.  "He  wilted  a  little  when 
you  were  telling  your  story,  but  the  moment  he  saw  you 
had  no  definite  proofs  he  was,  as  I  expected  he  would  be, 
ready  to  defy  you.     What  shall  you  do  now?" 

"I  shall  ride  back  into  Richmond  again  and  give  a  full 
account  of  my  escape  from  the  jail,  and  state  that  I 
firmly  believe  that  the  information  as  to  my  disguise  was 
given  by  Jackson,  and  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  personal 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  269 

hostility  which,  as  many  young  men  in  Eichmond  are 
well  aware,  has  existed  for  some  time  between  us." 

"Well,  you  must  do  as  you  like,  Wingfield,  but  I  think 
it  will  be  a  risky  business." 

"It  may  be  so,"  Vincent  said;  "but  I  have  little  doubt 
that  long  before  Jackson  is  exchanged  I  shall  have  dis- 
covered Dinah,  and  shall  prosecute  Jackson  for  theft  and 
kidnaping,  in  which  case  the  young  man  will  hardly 
venture  to  prosecute  me  or  indeed  to  show  his  face  in 
this  part  of  the  country." 

That  evening  the  two  young  officers  started  for  the 
front,  and  the  next  morning  the  Eichmond  papers  came 
out  with  a  sensational  heading,  "Alleged  Gross  Act  of 
Treachery  and  Ingratitude  by  a  Confederate  Officer." 

It  was  the  10th  of  December  when  Vincent  joined  the 
army  at  Fredericksburg.  He  reported  himself  to  General 
Stuart,  who  received  him  with  great  cordiality. 

"You  are  just  in  time,  Wingfield,"  he  said.  "I  be- 
lieve that  in  another  twenty-four  hours  the  battle  will  be 
fought.  They  have  for  the  last  two  days  been  moving 
about  in  front,  and  apparently  want  us  to  believe  that 
they  intend  to  cross  somewhere  below  the  town;  but  all 
the  news  we  get  from  our  spies  is  to  the  effect  that  these 
are  only  feints  and  that  they  intend  to  throw  a  bridge 
across  here.  We  know,  anyhow,  they  have  got  two  trains 
concealed  opposite,  near  the  river.  Burnside  is  likely  to 
find  it  a  hard  nut  to  crack.  Of  course  they  are  superior 
in  number  to  us,  as  they  always  are;  but  as  we  have  al- 
ways beat  them  well  on  level  ground  I  do  not  think  their 
chances  of  getting  up  these  heights  are  by  any  means 
hopeful.  Then,  too,  their  change  of  commanders  is 
against  them.  McClellan  fought  a  drawn  battle  against 
us  at  Antietam  and  showed  himself  a  really  able  general 
in  the  operations  in  front  of  Eichmond.  The  army  have 
confidence  in  him,  and  he  is  by  far  the  best  man  they 


270  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

have  got  so  far,,  but  the  fools  at  Washington  have  now  for 
the  second  time  displaced  him  because  they  are  jealous 
of  him.  Burnside  has  shown  himself  a  good  man  in 
minor  commands,  but  I  don't  think  he  is  equal  to  com- 
mand such  a  vast  army  as  this;  and  besides,  we  know 
from  our  friends  at  Washington  that  he  has  protested 
against  this  advance  across  the  river,  but  has  been  over- 
ruled. You  will  see  Fredericksburg  will  add  another  to 
the  long  list  of  our  victories." 

Vincent  shared  a  tent  with  another  officer  of  the  same 
rank  in  General  Stuart's  staff,  They  sat  chatting  till 
late,  and  it  was  still  dark  when  they  were  suddenly 
aroused  by  an  outbreak  of  musketry  down  at  the  river. 

"The  general  was  right,"  Captain  Longmore,  Vincent's 
companion,  exclaimed.  "They  are  evidently  throwing  a 
bridge  across  the  river,  and  the  fire  we  hear  comes  from 
two  regiments  of  Mississippians  who  are  posted  down  in 
the  town  under  Barksdale." 

It  was  but  the  work  of  a  minute  to  throw  on  their 
clothes  and  hurry  out.  The  night  was  dark  and  a  heavy 
fog  hung  over  the  river.  A  perfect  roar  of  musketry 
came  up  from  the  valley.  Drums  and  bugles  were  sound- 
ing all  along  the  crest.  At  the  same  moment  they  issued 
out  General  Stuart  came  out  from  his  tent,  which  was 
close  by. 

"Is  that  you,  Longmore?  Jump  on  your  horse  and 
ride  down  to  the  town.  Bring  back  news  of  what  is  go- 
ing on." 

A  few  minutes  later  an  officer  rode  up.  Some  wood 
had  been  thrown  on  the  fire,  and  by  its  light  Vincent  rec- 
ognized Stonewall  Jackson. 

"Have  you  any  news  for  us?"  he  asked. 

"Not  yet,  I  have  sent  an  officer  down  to  inquire.  The 
enemy  have  been  trying  to  bridge  the  river." 

"I  suppose  so,"  Jackson  replied.     "I  have  ordered  one 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  271 

of  my  brigades  to  come  to  the  head  of  the  bank  as  soon 
as  they  can  be  formed  up,  to  help  Barksdale  if  need  be, 
but  I  don't  want  to  take  them  down  into  the  town.  It  is 
commanded  by  all  the  hills  on  the  opposite  side,  and  we 
know  they  have  brought  up  also  all  their  artillery  there." 

In  a  few  minutes  Captain  Longmore  returned. 

"The  enemy  have  thrown  two  pontoon  bridges  across, 
one  above  and  one  below  the  old  railway  bridge.  The 
Mississippians  have  driven  them  back  once,  but  they  are 
pushing  on  the  work  and  will  soon  get  it  finished;  but 
General  Barksdale  bids  me  report  that  with  the  force  at 
his  command  he  can  repulse  any  attempt  to  cross." 

The  light  was  now  breaking  in  the  east,  but  the  roar  of 
musketry  continued  under  the  canopy  of  fog.  General 
Lee,  Longstreet,  and  others  had  now  arrived  upon  the 
spot,  and  Vincent  was  surprised  that  no  orders  were  is- 
sued for  troops  to  reinforce  those  under  General  Barks- 
dale. Presently  the  sun  rose,  and  as  it  gained  in  power 
the  fog  slowly  lifted,  and  it  was  seen  that  the  two  pon- 
toon bridges  were  complete;  but  the  fire  of  the  Mississip- 
pians was  so  heavy  that  although  the  enemy  several  times 
attempted  to  cross  they  recoiled  before  it.  Suddenly  a 
gun  wa3  fired  from  the  opposite  height,  and  at  the  signal 
more  than  a  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  opened  fire  upon 
the  town.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  had  left  as  soon  as 
the  musketry  fire  began,  but  the  slopes  behind  it  soon 
presented  a  sad  spectacle.  Men,  women,  and  children 
poured  out  from  the  town,  bewildered  with  the  din  and 
terrified  by  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell  that  crashed  into 
it.  Higher  and  higher  the  crowd  of  fugitives  made  their 
way  until  they  reached  the  crest;  among  them  were  weep- 
ing women  and  crying  children,  many  of  them  in  the 
scantiest  attire  and  carrying  such  articles  of  dress  and 
valuables  as  they  had  caught  up  when  startled  by  the  ter- 
rible rain  of  missiles.     In  a  very  few  minutes  smoke  be- 


272  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

gan  to  rise  over  the  town,  followed  by  tongues  of  flame, 
and  in  half  an  hour  the  place  was  on  fire  in  a  score  of 
places. 

All  day  the  bombardment  went  on  without  cessation 
and  Fredericksburg  crumbled  into  ruins.  Still,  in  spite 
of  this  terrible  fire  the  Mississippians  clung  to  the  burn- 
ing town  amid  crashing  walls,  falling  chimneys,  and  shells 
exploding  in  every  direction.  As  night  fell  the  enemy 
poured  across  the  bridges,  and  Barksdale,  contesting 
every  foot  of  ground,  fell  back  through  the  burning  city 
and  took  up  a  position  behind  a  stone  wall  in  its  rear. 

Throughout  the  day  not  a  single  shot  had  been  fired  by 
the  Confederate  artillery,  which  was  very  inferior  in 
power  to  that  of  the  enemy.  As  General  Lee  had  no 
wish  finally  to  hinder  the  passage  of  the  Federals,  the 
stubborn  resistance  of  Barksdale's  force  being  only  in- 
tended to  give  him  time  to  concentrate  all  his  army  as 
soon  as  he  knew  for  certain  the  point  at  which  the  enemy 
was  going  to  cross;  and  he  did  not  wish,  therefore,  to 
risk  the  destruction  of  any  of  his  batteries  by  calling 
down  the  Federal  fire  upon  them. 

During  the  day  the  troops  were  all  brought  up  into 
position.  Longstreet  was  on  the  left  and  Jackson  on  the 
right,  while  the  guns,  forty-seven  in  number,  were  in 
readiness  to  take  up  their  post  in  the  morning  on  the 
slopes  in  front  of  them.  On  the  extreme  right  General 
Stuart  was  posted  with  his  cavalry  and  horse  artillery. 
The  night  passed  quietly  and  by  daybreak  the  troops 
were  all  drawn  up  in  their  positions. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  rose  it  was  seen  that  during  the 
night  the  enemy  had  thrown  more  bridges  across  and 
that  the  greater  portion  of  the  army  was  already  over. 
They  were,  indeed,  already  in  movement  against  the  Con- 
federate position,  their  attack  being  directed  toward  the 
portion  of  the  line  held  by  Jackson's  division.     General 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  273 

Stuart  gave  orders  to  Major  Pelham,  who  commanded 
his  horse  artillery,  and  who  immediately  brought  up  the 
guns  and  began  the  battle  by  opening  fire  on  the  flank  of 
the  enemy.  The  guns  of  the  Northern  batteries  at  once 
replied,  and  for  some  hours  the  artillery  duel  continued, 
the  Federal  guns  doing  heavy  execution.  For  a  time 
attacks  were  threatened  from  various  points,  but  about 
ten  o'clock,  when  the  fog  lifted,  a  mass  of  some  55,000 
troops  advanced  against  Jackson.  They  were  suffered  to 
come  within  800  yards  before  a  gun  was  fired,  and  then 
fourteen  guns  opened  upon  them  with  such  effect  that 
they  fell  back  in  confusion. 

At  one  o'clock  another  attempt  was  made,  covered  by  a 
tremendous  fire  of  artillery.  For  a  time  the  columns  of 
attack  were  kept  at  bay  by  the  fire  of  the  Confederate 
batteries,  but  they  advanced  with  great  resolution, 
pushed  their  way  through  Jackson's  first  line,  and  forced 
them  to  fall  back.  Jackson  brought  up  his  second  line 
and  drove  the  enemy  back  with  great  slaughter  until  his 
advance  was  checked  by  the  fire  of  the  Northern  artillery. 

All  day  the  fight  went  on,  the  Federals  attempting  to 
crush  the  Confederate  artillery  by  the  weight  of  their 
fire  in  order  that  their  infantry  columns  might  again  ad- 
vance. But  although  outnumbered  by  more  than  two  to 
one  the  Confederate  guns  were  worked  with  great  resolu- 
tion, and  the  day  passed  and  darkness  began  to  fall  with- 
out their  retiring  from  the  positions  they  had  taken  up. 
Just  at  sunset  General  Stuart  ordered  all  the  batteries  on 
the  right  to  advance.  This  they  did  and  opened  their 
fire  on  the  Northern  infantry  with  such  effect  that  these 
fell  back  to  the  position  near  the  town  that  they  had  oc- 
cupied in  the  morning. 

On  the  left  an  equally  terrible  battle  had  raged  all  day, 
but  here  the  Northern  troops  were  compelled  to  cross 
open  ground  between  the  town  and  the  base  of  the  hill, 


274  WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA. 

and  suffered  so  terribly  from  the  fire  that  they  never  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  Confederate  front.  Throughout 
the  day  the  Confederates  held  their  position  with  such 
ease  that  General  Lee  considered  the  affair  as  nothing 
more  than  a  demonstration  of  force  to  feel  his  position, 
and  expected  an  even  sterner  battle  on  the  following  day. 
Jackson's  first  and  second  lines,  composed  of  less  than 
15,000  men,  had  repulsed  without  difficulty  the  divisions 
of  Franklin  and  Hooker,  55,000  strong;  while  Longstreet 
with  about  the  same  force  had  never  been  really  pressed 
by  the  enemy,  although  on  that  side  they  had  a  force  of 
over  50,000  men. 

In  the  morning  the  Northern  army  was  seen  drawn  up 
in  battle  array  as  if  to  advance  for  fresh  assault,  but  no 
movement  was  made.  General  Burnside  was  in  favor  of 
a  fresh  attack,  but  the  generals  commanding  the  various 
divisions  felt  that  their  troops,  after  the  repulse  the  day 
before,  were  not  equal  to  the  work,  and  were  unani- 
mously of  opinion  that  a  second  assault  should  not  be  at- 
tempted. After  remaining  for  some  hours  in  order  of 
battle  they  fell  back  into  the  town  and  two  days  later  the 
whole  army  recrossecl  the  Bappahannock  river.  The  loss 
of  the  Confederates  was  1,800  men,  who  were  for  the  most 
part  killed  or  wounded  by  the  enemy's  artillery,  while 
the  Federal  loss  was  no  less  than  13,771.  General  Burn- 
side  soon  afterward  resigned  his  command,  and  General 
Hooker,  an  officer  of  the  same  politics  as  the  president 
and  his  advisers,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

The  cavalry  had  not  been  called  upon  to  act  during 
the  day,  and  Vincent's  duties  were  confined  to  carrying 
orders  to  the  commanders  of  the  various  batteries  of  ar- 
tillery posted  in  that  part  of  the  field,  as  these  had  all 
been  placed  under  General  Stuart's  orders.  He  had 
many  narrow  escapes  by  shot  and  fragments  of  shells, 
but  passed  through  the  day  uninjured. 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA  #75 

General  Lee  has  been  blamed  for  not  taking  advantage 
of  his  victory  and  falling  upon  the  Federals  on  the  morn- 
ing after  the  battle;  but  although  such  an  assault  might 
possibly  have  been  successful  he  was  conscious  of  his  im- 
mense inferiority  in  force,  and  his  troops  would  have 
been  compelled  to  have  advanced  to  the  attack  across 
ground  completely  swept  by  the  fire  of  the  magnificently 
served  Northern  artillery  posted  upon  their  commanding 
heights.  He  was  moreover  ignorant  of  the  full  extent  of 
the  loss  he  had  inflicted  upon  the  enemy,  and  expected  a 
renewed  attack  by  them.  He  was  therefore,  doubtless, 
unwilling  to  risk  the  results  of  the  victory  he  had  gained 
and  of  the  victory  he  expected  to  gain  should  the  enemy 
renew  their  attack,  by  a  movement  which  might  not  be 
successful,  and  which  would  at  any  rate  have  cost  him  a 
tremendous  loss  of  men,  and  men  were  already  becoming 
scarce  in  the  Confederacy. 

As  soon  as  the  enemy  had  fallen  back  across  the  river 
and  it  was  certain  that  there  was  little  chance  of  another 
forward  movement  on  their  part  for  a  considerable  time, 
Vincent  showed  to  General  Stuart  the  permit  he  had  re- 
ceived to  return  home  until  the  spring  on  leave,  and  at 
once  received  the  general's  permission  to  retire  from  the 
staff  for  a  time. 

He  had  not  been  accompanied  by  Dan  on  his  railway 
journey  to  the  front,  having  left  him  behind  with  instruc- 
tions to  endeavor  by  every  means  to  find  some  clew  as  to 
the  direction  in  which  Dinah  had  been  carried  off.  He 
telegraphed  on  his  way  home  the  news  of  his  coming,  and 
found  Dan  at  the  station  waiting  for  him. 

"Well,  Dan,  have  you  obtained  any  news?"  he  asked 
as  soon  as  his  horse  had  been  removed  from  its  box,  and 
he  had  mounted  and  at  a  foot-pace  left  the  station,  with 
Dan  walking  beside  him. 

"No,  sah;  I  hab  done  my  best,  but  I  cannot  find  out 


276  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

anyting.  The  niggers  at  Jackson's  all  say  dat  no 
strangers  hab  been  there  wid  de  old  man  for  a  long  time 
before  de  day  dat  Dinah  was  carried  off.  I  have  been 
over  dar,  massa,  and  hab  talked  wid  the  hands  at  de 
bouse.  Dey  all  say  dat  no  one  been  dere  for  a  month. 
Me  sure  dat  dey  no  tell  a  lie  about  it,  because  dey  all  hate 
Massa  Jackson  like  pison.  Den  de  lawyer,  he  am  put  de 
advertisement  you  told  him  in  the  papers:  Five  hundred 
dollars  to  whoever  would  give  information  about  de  carry- 
ing off  of  a  female  slave  from  Missy  Wingfield,  or  dat 
would  lead  to  de  discovery  of  her  hiding-place.  But  no 
answer  come.  Me  heard  Missy  Wingfield  say  so  last 
night." 

"That's  bad,  Dan;  but  I  hardly  expected  anything 
better.  I  felt  sure  the  old  fox  would  have  taken  every 
precaution,  knowing  what  a  serious  business  it  would  be 
for  him  if  it  were  found  out.  Now  I  am  back  I  will  take 
the  matter  up  myself,  and  we  will  see  what  we  can  do. 
I  wish  I  could  have  set  about  it  the  day  after  she  was 
carried  away.  It  is  more  than  a  fortnight  ago  now,  and 
that  will  make  it  much  more  difficult  than  it  would  have 
been  had  it  been  begun  at  once." 

"Well,  Vincent,  so  you  have  come  back  to  us  undam- 
aged this  time,"  his  mother  said  after  the  first  greeting. 
"We  were  very  anxious  when  the  news  came  that  a  great 
battle  had  been  fought  last  Friday;  but  when  we  heard 
the  next  morning  the  enemy  had  been  repulsed  so  easily 
we  were  not  so  anxious,  although  it  was  not  until  this 
morning  that  the  list  of  killed  and  wounded  was  pub- 
lished, and  our  minds  set  at  rest." 

"No,  mother;  it  was  a  tremendous  artillery  battle,  but 
it  was  a  little  more  than  that — at  least  on  our  side.  But 
I  have  never  heard  anything  at  all  like  it  from  sunrise  to 
sunset.  But,  after  all,  an  artillery  fire  is  more  frighten- 
ing than  dangerous,  except  at  comparatively  close  quar- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  277 

ters.  The  enemy  must  have  fired  at  least  fifty  shots  for 
every  man  that  was  hit.  I  counted  several  times,  and 
there  were  fully  a  hundred  shots  a  minute,  and  I  don't 
think  it  lessened  much  the  whole  day.  I  should  think 
they  must  have  fired  two  or  three  hundred  rounds  at 
least  from  each  gun.  The  roar  was  incessant,  and  what 
with  the  din  they  made,  and  the  replies  of  our  own  artil- 
lery, and  the  bursting  of  shells,  and  the  rattle  of 
musketry,  the  din  at  times  was  almost  bewildering.  Wild- 
fire was  hit  with  a  piece  of  shell,  but  fortunately  it  was 
not  a  very  large  one,  and  he  is  not  much  the  worse  for  it, 
but  the  shock  knocked  him  off  his  legs;  of  course  I  went 
down  with  him,  and  thought  for  a  moment  I  had  been 
hit  myself.  No;  it  was  by  far  the  most  hollow  affair  we 
have  had.  The  enemy  fought  obstinately  enough,  but 
without  the  slightest  spirit  or  dash,  and  only  once  did 
they  get  up  anywhere  near  our  line,  and  then  they  went 
back  a  good  deal  quicker  than  they  came." 

"And  now  you  are  going  to  be  with  us  for  three 
months,  Vincent?" 

"I  hope  so,  mother;  at  least  if  they  do  not  advance 
again.  I  shall  be  here  off  and  on.  I  mean  to  find  Dinah 
Morris  if  it  is  possible,  and  if  J.  can  obtain  the  slightest 
clew  I  shall  follow  it  up  and  go  wherever  it  may  lead  me.5' 

"Well,  we  will  spare  you  for  that,  Vincent.  As  you 
know,  I  did  not  like  your  mixing  yourself  up  in  that 
business  two  years  ago,  but  it  is  altogether  different  now. 
The  woman  was  very  willing  and  well  conducted,  and  I 
had  got  to  be  really  fond  of  her.  But  putting  that  aside, 
it  is  intolerable  that  such  a  piece  of  insolence  as  the 
stealing  of  one  of  our  slaves  should  go  unpunished. 
Therefore  if  you  do  find  any  clew  to  the  affair  we  will  not 
grumble  at  your  following  it  up,  even  if  it  does  take  you 
away  from  home  for  a  short  time.  By  the  bye,  we  had 
letters  this  morning  from  a  certain  young  lady  in  Georgia 


278  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

inclosing  her  photograph,  and  I  rather  fancy  there  is  one 
for  you  somewhere." 

"Where  is  it,  mother?"  Vincent  asked,  jumping  from 
his  seat. 

'"'Let  me  think,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  replied.  "Did  either 
of  you  girls  put  it  away,  or  where  can  it  have  been 
stowed?"     The  girls  both  laughed. 

"Now,  Vincent,  what  offer  do  you  make  for  the  letter? 
Well,  we  won't  tease  you,"  Annie  went  on  as  Vincent 
gave  an  impatient  exclamation.  "Another  time  we 
might  do  so,  but  as  you  have  just  come  safely  back  to  us 
I  don't  think  it  will  be  fair,  especially  as  this  is  the  very 
first  letter.  Here  it  is!"  and  she  took  out  of  the  work- 
bos  before  her  the  missive  Vincent  was  so  eager  to. 
receive. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  279 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   SEARCH   FOR   DINAH. 

"By  the  bye,  Vincent/'  Mrs.  Wingfield  remarked 
next  morning  at  breakfast,  "I  have  parted  with  Pearson." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  it,  mother.  What!  did  you  dis- 
cover at  last  that  he  was  a  scamp?" 

"Several  things  that  occurred  shook  my  confidence  in 
him,  Vincent.  The  accounts  were  not  at  all  satisfactory, 
and  it  happened  quite  accidentally  that  when  I  was  talk- 
ing one  day  with  Mr.  Robertson,  who5  as  you  know,  is  a 
great  speculator  in  tobacco,  I  said  that  I  should  grow  no 
more  tobacco,  as  it  really  fetched  nothing.  He  replied 
that  it  would  be  a  pity  to  give  it  up,  for  so  little  was  now 
cultivated  that  the  price  was  rising,  and  the  Orangery 
tobacco  always  fetched  top  prices.  'I  think  the  price  I 
paid  for  your  crop  this  year  must  at  any  rate  have  paid 
for  the  labor — 'that  is  to  say,  paid  for  the  keep  of  the 
slaves  and  something  over.'  He  then  mentioned  the 
price  he  had  given,  which  was  certainly  a  good  deal 
higher  than  I  had  imagined.  I  looked  to  my  accounts 
next  morning,  and  found  that  Pearson  had  only  credited 
me  with  one-third  of  the  amount  he  must  have  received, 
so  I  at  once  dismissed  him.  Indeed,  I  had  been  thinking 
of  doing  so  some  little  time  before,  for  money  is  so  scarce 
and  the  price  of  produce  so  low  that  I  felt  I  could  not 
afford  to  pay  as  much  as  T  have  been  giving  him." 

"I  am  afraid  I  have  been  drawing  rather  heavily, 
mother,"  Vincent  put  in. 


280  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  have  plenty  of  money,  Vincent.  Since  your  father's 
death  we  have  had  much  less  company  than  before,  and  I 
have  not  spent  my  income.  Besides,  I  have  a  consider- 
able sum  invested  in  house  property  and  other  securities. 
But  I  have,  of  course,  since  the  war  began  been  subscrib- 
ing toward  the  expenses  of  the  war — for  the  support  of 
hospitals  and  so  on.  I  thought  at  a  time  like  this  I 
ought  to  keep  my  expenses  down  at  the  lowest  point,  and 
to  give  the  balance  of  my  income  to  the  State." 

"How  did  Jonas  take  his  dismissal,  mother?" 

"Not  very  pleasantly,"  Mrs.  Wingfield  replied;  "espe- 
cially when  I  told  him  that  I  had  discovered  he  was  rob- 
bing me.  However,  he  knew  better  than  to  say  much, 
for  he  has  not  been  in  good  odor  about  here  for  some 
time.  After  the  fighting  near  here  there  were  reports 
that  he  had  been  in  communication  with  the  Yankees. 
He  spoke  to  me  about  it  at  the  time,  but  as  it  was  a  mere 
matter  of  rumor,  originating,  no  doubt,  from  the  fact 
that  he  was  a  Northern  man  by  birth,  I  paid  no  attention 
to  them." 

"It  is  likely  enough  to  be  true,"  Vincent  said.  "I  al- 
ways distrusted  the  vehemence  with  which  he  took  the 
Confederate  side.     How  long  ago  did  this  happen?" 

"It  is  about  a  month  since  I  dismissed  him." 

"So  lately  as  that!  Then  I  should  not  be  at  all  sur- 
prised if  he  had  some  hand  in  carrying  off  Dinah.  I 
know  he  was  in  communication  with  Jackson,  for  I  once 
saw  them  together  in  the  street,  and  I  fancied  at  the 
time  that  it  was  through  him  that  Jackson  learned  that 
Dinah  was  here.  It  is  an  additional  clew  to  inquire  into, 
anyhow.  Do  you  know  what  has  become  of  him  since  he 
left  you?" 

"No;  I  have  heard  nothing  at  all  about  him,  Vincent, 
from  the  day  I  gave  him  a  check  for  his  pay  in  this  room. 
Farrell,  who  was  under  him,  is  now  in  charge  of  the 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  281 

Orangery.  He  may  possibly  know  something  of  his 
movements." 

"I  think  Farrell  is  an  honest  fellow/'  Vincent  said. 
"He  was  always  about  doing  his  work  quietly;  never 
bullying  or  shouting  at  the  hands,  and  yet  seeing  that 
they  did  their  work  properly.  I  will  ride  out  and  see 
him  at  once." 

As  soon  as  breakfast  was  over  Vincent  started,  and 
found  Farrell  in  the  fields  with  the  hands. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you  back,  sir,"  the  man  said  heartily. 

"Thank  you,  Farrell.  I  am  glad  to  be  back,  and  I  am 
glad  to  find  you  in  Pearson's  place.  I  never  liked  the 
fellow,  and  never  trusted  him." 

"I  did  not  like  him  myself,  sir,  though  we  always  got 
on  well  enough  together.  He  knew  his  work,  and  got  as 
much  out  of  the  hands  as  any  one  could  do;  but  I  did 
not  like  his  way  with  them.     They  hated  him." 

"Have  you  any  idea  where  he  went  when  he  left  here?" 

"No,  sir;  he  did  not  come  back  after  he  got  his  dis- 
missal. He  sent  a  man  in  a  buggy  with  a  note  to  me, 
asking  me  to  send  all  his  things  over  to  Eichmond.  I 
expect  he  was  afraid  the  news  might  get  here  as  soon  as 
he  did,  and  that  the  hands  would  give  him  an  unpleasant 
reception,  as  indeed  I  expect  they  would  have  done." 

"You  don't  know  whether  he  has  any  friends  anywhere 
in  the  Confederacy  to  whom  he  would  be  likely  to  go?" 

"I  don't  know  about  friends,  sir;  but  I  know  he  has 
told  me  he  was  overseer,  or  partner,  or  something  of  that 
sort,  in  a  small  station  down  in  the  swamps  of  South 
Carolina.  I  should  think,  from  things  he  has  let  drop, 
that  the  slaves  must  have  had  a  bad  time  of  it.  I  rather 
fancy  he  made  the  place  too  hot  for  him,  and  had  to 
leave;  but  that  was  only  my  impression." 

"In  that  case  he  may  possibly  have  made  his  way  back 
there,"   Vincent   said.     "I  have  particular  reasons  for 


282  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

wishing  to  find  out.     You  don't  know  anything  about 
the  name  of  the  place?"     The  man  shook  his  head. 

"He  never  mentioned  the  name  in  my  hearing." 

"Well,  I  must  try  to  find  out,  but  I  don't  quite  see  how 
to  set  about  it"  Vincent  said.  "By  the  way,  do  you 
know  where  his  clothes  were  sent  to?" 

"Yes;  the  man  said  that  he  was  to  take  them  to 
Harker's  Hotel.  It's  a  second-rate  hotel  not  far  from  the 
railway  station." 

"Thank  you.  That  will  help  me.  I  know  the  house. 
It  was  formerly  used  by  Northern  drummers  and  people 
of  that  sort." 

After  riding  back  to  Eichmond  and  putting  up  his 
horse,  Vincent  went  to  the  hotel  there.  Although  but  a 
secondary  hotel  it  was  well  filled,  for  people  from  all 
parts  of  the  Confederacy  resorted  to  Richmond,  and  how- 
ever much  trade  suffered,  the  hotels  of  the  town  did  a 
good  business.  He  first  went  up  to  the  clerk  in  a  little 
office  at  the  entrance. 

"You  had  a  man  named  Pearson,"  he  said,  "staying 
here  about  a  month  ago.  Will  you  be  good  enough  to 
tell  me  on  what  day  he  left?" 

The  clerk  turned  to  the  register,  and  said  after  a 
minute's  examination: 

"He  came  on  the  14th  of  November,  and  he  left  on  the 
20th." 

This  was  two  days  after  the  date  on  which  Dinah  had 
been  carried  off. 

In  American  hotels  the  halls  are  large  and  provided 
with  seats,  and  are  generally  used  as  smoking  and  read- 
ing-rooms by  the  male  visitors  to  the  hotel.  At  Harker's 
Hotel  there  was  a  small  bar  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  and  a 
black  waiter  supplied  the  wants  of  the  guests  seated  at 
the  various  little  tables.  Vincent  seated  himself  at  one 
of  these  and  ordered  something  to  drink.  As  the  negro 
placed  it  on  the  table  he  said: 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  283 

"I  will  give  you  a  dollar  if  you  will  answer  a  few  ques- 
tions/' 

4 'Very  good,  sah.  Dat  am  a  mighty  easy  way  to  earn 
a  dollar." 

"Do  you  remember,  about  a  month  ago,  a  man  named 
Pearson  being  here?" 

The  negro  shook  his  head. 

"Me  not  know  de  names  of  de  gentlemen,  sah.  What 
was  de  man  like?" 

"He  was  tall  and  thin,  with  short  hair  and  a  gray 
goatee — a  regular  Yankee." 

"Me  remember  him,  sah.  Dar  used  to  be  plenty  ob 
dat  sort  here.  Don't  see  dem  much  now.  Me  remember 
de  man,  sah,  quite  well.  Used  to  pass  most  of  de  day 
here.     Didn't  seem  to  have  nuffin  to  do." 

"Was  he  always  alone,  or  did  he  have  many  people  here 
to  see  him?" 

"Once  dar  war  two  men  here  wid  him,  sah,  sitting  at 
dat  table  ober  in  de  corner.  Eough-looking  fellows  dey 
war.  In  old  times  people  like  dat  wouldn't  come  to  a 
'spectable  hotel,  but  now  most  ebery  one  got  rough 
clothes,  can't  get  no  others,  so  one  don't  tink  nuffin  about 
it;  but  dose  fellows  was  rough-looking  besides  dar  clothes. 
Didn't  like  dar  looks  nohow.  Dey  only  came  here  once. 
Dey  was  de  only  strangers  that  came  to  see  him.  But 
once  Massa  Jackson — me  know  him  by  sight — he  came 
here  and  talk  wid  him  for  a  long  time.  Earnest  sort  of 
talk  dat  seemed  to  be.  Dey  talk  in  low  voice,  and  I 
noticed  dey  stopped  talking  when  any  one  sat  down  near 
dem." 

"You  don't  know  where  he  went  to  from  here,  I  sup- 
pose?" 

"No,  sah,  dat  not  my  compartment.  Perhaps  de  out- 
side porter  v/ill  know.  Like  enough  he  take  his  tings  in 
hand-truck  to  station.     You  like  to  see  him,  sah?" 


284  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"Yes,  I  should  like  to  have  a  minute's  talk  with  him. 
Here  is  your  dollar." 

The  waiter  rang  a  bell,  and  a  minute  later  the  outdoor 
porter  presented  himself. 

"You  remember  taking  some  tings  to  station  for  a 
tall  man  wid  gray  goatee,  Pomp?"  the  waiter  asked.  "It 
was  more  dan  tree  weeks  ago.  I  tmk  he  went  before  it 
was  light  in  de  morning.     Me  seem  to  remember  dat." 

The  negro  nodded. 

"Me  remember  him  bery  well,  sah.  Tree  heavy  boxes 
and  one  bag,  and  he  only  give  me  quarter  dollar  for  tak- 
ing dem  to  de  station.     Mighty  mean  man  dat." 

"Do  you  know  what  train  he  went  by?" 

"Yes,  sah,  it  was  de  six  o'clock  train  for  de  souf." 

"You  can't  find  out  where  his  luggage  was  checked 
for?" 

"I  can  go  down  to  de  station,  sah,  and  see  if  I  can  find 
out.     Some  of  de  men  thar  may  remember." 

"Here  is  a  dollar  for  yourself,"  Vincent  said,  "and 
another  to  give  to  any  of  the  men  who  can  give  you  the 
news.  When  you  have  found  out  come  and  tell  me. 
Here  is  my  card  and  address." 

"Bery  well,  sah.  Next  time  me  go  up  to  station  me 
find  about  it,  for  sure,  if  any  one  remember  dat  fellow." 

In  the  evening  the  negro  called  at  the  house  and  told 
Vincent  that  he  had  ascertained  that  a  man  answering  to 
his  description  and  having  luggage  similar  to  that  of 
Pearson  had  had  it  checked  to  Florence  in  South  Caro- 
lina. 

Vincent  now  called  Dan  into  his  counsel  and  told  him 
what  he  had  discovered.  The  young  negro  had  already 
given  proof  of  such  intelligence  that  he  felt  sure  his 
opinion  would  be  of  value. 

"Dat  all  bery  plain,  sah,"  Dan  said  when  Vincent  fin- 
ished his  story.     "Me  no  doubt  dat  old  rascal  Jackson 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  285 

give  money  to  Pearson  to  carry  off  de  gal.  Ob  course  he 
did  it  just  to  take  revenge  upon  Tony.  Pearson  he  go 
into  de  plot,  because,  in  de  fust  place,  it  vex  Missy  Wing- 
field  and  you  bery  much;  in  de  second  place,  because 
Jackson  gib  him  money;  in  de  third  place,  because  he 
get  hold  of  negro  slave  worf  a  thousand  dollar.  Dat  all 
quite  clear.  He  not  do  it  himself,  but  arrange  wid  oder 
fellows,  and  he  stop  quiet  at  de  hotel  for  two  days  after 
she  gone  so  dat  no  one  can  'spect  his  having  hand  in  de 
affair." 

"That  is  just  how  I  make  it  out,  Dan;  and  now  he  has 
gone  off  to  join  them." 

Dan  thought  for  some  time. 

"Perhaps  dey  join  him  thar,  sah,  perhaps  not;  perhaps 
him  send  him  baggage  on  there  and  get  out  somewhere 
on  de  road  and  meet  them." 

"That  is  likely  enough,  Dan.  No  doubt  Dinah  was 
taken  away  in  a  cart  or  buggy.  As  she  left  two  days  be- 
fore he  did,  they  may  have  gone  from  forty  to  sixty 
miles  along  the  road,  to  some  place  where  he  may  have 
joined  them.  The  men  who  carried  her  off  may  either 
have  come  back  or  gone  on  with  him.  If  they  wanted  to 
go  south  they  would  go  on;  if  they  did  not,  he  would 
probably  have  only  hired  them  to  carry  her  off  and  hand 
her  over  to  him  when  he  overtook  them.  I  will  look  at 
the  time-table  and  see  where  that  train  stops.  It  is  a 
fast  train,  I  see,"  he  said,  after  consulting  it;  it  stops  at 
Petersburg,  fifteen  miles  on,  and  at  Hicks  Ford,  which 
is  about  fifty  miles.  I  should  think  the  second  place  was 
most  likely,  as  the  cart  could  easily  have  got  there  in  two 
days.  Now,  Dan,  you  had  better  start  to-morrow  morn- 
ing, and  spend  two  days  there  if  necessary;  find  out  if 
you  can  if  on  the  twentieth  of  last  month  any  one  noticed 
a  vehicle  of  any  kind,  with  two  rough  men  in  it,  and 
with,  perhaps,  a  negro  woman.     She  might  not  have  been 


286  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

noticed,  for  she  may  have  been  lying  tied  up  in  the  bot* 
torn  of  the  cart,  although  it  is  more  likely  they  fright- 
ened her  by  threats  into  sitting  up  quiet  with  them. 
They  are  sure  not  to  have  stopped  at  any  decent  hotel, 
but  will  have  gone  to  some  small  place,  probably  just  out- 
side the  town. 

"I  will  go  with  you  to  Mr.  Renfrew  the  first  thing  in 
the  morning  and  get  him  to  draw  up  a  paper  testifying 
that  you  are  engaged  in  lawful  business,  and  are  making 
inquiries  with  a  view  to  discovering  a  crime  which  has 
been  committed,  and  recommending  you  to  the  assistance 
of  the  police  in  any  town  you  may  go  to.  Then  if  you  go 
with  that  to  the  head  constable  at  Hicks  Ford  he  will  tell 
you  which  are  the  places  at  which  such  fellows  as  these 
would  have  been  likely  to  put  up  for  the  night,  and  per- 
haps send  a  policeman  with  you  to  make  inquiries,  If 
you  get  any  news  telegraph  to  me  at  once.  I  will  start 
by  the  sis  o'clock  train  on  the  following  morning.  Do 
you  be  on  the  platform  to  meet  me,  and  we  can  then 
either  go  straight  on  to  Florence,  or,  should  there  be  any 
occasion,  I  will  get  out  there;  but  I  don't  think  that  is 
likely.  Pearson  himself  will,  to  a  certainty,  sooner  or 
later,  go  to  Florence  to  get  his  luggage,  and  the  only  real 
advantage  we  shall  get  if  your  inquiries  are  successful  will 
be  to  find  out  for  certain  whether  he  is  concerned  in  the 
affair.  We  shall  then  only  have  to  follow  his  traces  from 
Florence." 

Two  days  later  Mr.  Renfrew  received  a  telegram  from 
the  head  constable  at  Hicks  Ford:  "The  two  men  with 
cart  spent  day  here,  20th  ult.  Were  joined  that  morning 
by  another  man — negro  says  Pearson.  One  man  re- 
turned afternoon,  Richmond.  Pearson  and  the  other 
drove  off  in  buggy.  A  young  negress  and  child  were 
wi^.h  them.     Is  there  anything  I  can  do?" 

Mr.  Renfrew  telegranhed  back  to  request  that  the  men. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  287 

who  were  kidnaping  the  female  slave,  should  if  possible 
be  traced  and  the  direction  they  took  ascertained.  He 
then  sent  the  message  across  to  Vincent,  who  at  once 
went  to  his  office. 

"Now,"  the  lawyer  said,  "you  must  do  nothing  rashly 
in  this  business,  Vincent.  They  are  at  the  best  of  times 
a  pretty  rough  lot  at  the  edge  of  these  Carolina  swamps, 
and  at  present  things  are  likely  to  be  worse  than  usual. 
If  you  were  to  go  alone  on  such  an  errand  you  would  almost 
certainly  be  shot.  In  the  first  place,  these  fellows  would 
not  give  up  a  valuable  slave  without  a  struggle;  and  in 
the  next  place,  they  have  committed  a  very  serious  crime. 
Therefore  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  you  should  go 
armed  with  legal  powers  and  backed  by  the  force  of  the 
law.  In  the  first  place,  I  will  draw  up  an  affidavit  and 
sign  it  myself,  to  the  effect  that  a  female  slave,  the  prop- 
erty of  Vincent  Wingfield,  has,  with  her  male  child,  been 
kidnaped  and  stolen  by  Jonas  Pearson  and  others  acting 
in  association  with  him,  and  that  we  have  reason  to  know 
that  she  has  been  conveyed  into  South  Carolina.  This  I 
will  get  witnessed  by  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  will  then 
take  it  up  to  Government  House.  There  I  will  get  the 
usual  official  request  to  the  governor  of  South  Carolina  to 
issue  orders  that  the  aid  of  the  law  shall  be  given  to  you 
in  recovering  the  said  Dinah  Morris  and  her  child  and 
arresting  her  abductors.  You  will  obtain  an  order  to 
this  effect  from  the  governor,  and  armed  with  it  you  will, 
as  soon  as  you  have  discovered  where  the  woman  is,  call 
upon  the  sheriff  of  the  county  to  aid  you  in  recovering 
her,  and  in  arresting  Pearson  and  his  associates. " 

"Thank  you,  sir.  That  will  certainly  be  the  best  way. 
I  run  plenty  of  risk  in  doing  my  duty  as  an  officer  of  the 
State,  and  I  have  no  desire  whatever  to  throw  my  life 
away  at  the  hands  of  ruffians  such  as  Pearson  and  his 
allies." 


288  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Two  hours  later  Vincent  received  from  Mr.  Renfrew 
the  official  letter  to  the  governor  of  South  Carolina,  and 
at  six  o'clock  next  morning  started  for  Florence.  On 
the  platform  of  the  station  at  Hicks  Ford  Dan  was  wait- 
ing for  him. 

"Jump  into  the  car  at  the  end,  Dan;  I  will  come  to 
you  there,  and  you  can  tell  me  all  the  news.  We  are  go- 
ing straight  on  to  Columbia.  Now,  Dan,"  Vincent  went 
on  when  he  joined  him — for  in  no  part  of  the  United 
States  were  negroes  allowed  to  travel  in  any  but  the  cars 
set  apart  for  .them — "what  is  your  news?  The  chief  con- 
stable telegraphed  that  they  had,  as  we  expected,  been 
joined  by  Pearson  here." 

"Yes,  sah,  dey  war  here  for  sure.  When  I  get  here  I 
go  straight  to  de  constable  and  tell  him  dat  I  was  in 
search  of  two  men  who  had  kidnaped  Captain  Wingfield's 
slave.  De  head  constable  he  Richmond  man,  and  ob 
course  knew  all  about  de  family;  so  he  take  de  matter  up 
at  once  and  send  constable  wid  me  to  seberal  places 
where  it  likely  dat  the  fellows  had  put  up,  but  we 
couldn't  find  nuffin  about  dem.  Den  next  morning  we  go 
out  again  to  village  four  mile  out  of  de  town  on  de  north 
road,  and  dere  we  found  sure  mough  dat  two  men,  wid 
negro  wench  and  chile,  had  stopped  dere.  She  seem  bery 
unhappy  and  cry  all  de  time.  De  men  say  dey  bought  her 
at  Richmond,  and  show  de  constable  of  de  village  de 
paper  dat  dey  had  bought  a  female  slabe  Sally  Moore 
and  her  chile.  De  constable  speak  to  woman,  but  she 
seem  frightened  out  of  her  life  and  no  say  anything.  Dey 
drive  off  wid  her  early  in  de  morning.  Den  we  make  in- 
quiries again  at  de  town  and  at  de  station.  We  find  dat 
a  man  like  Pearson  get  out.  He  had  only  little  hand- 
bag with  him.  He  ask  one  of  de  men  at  de  station  which 
was  de  way  to  de  norf  road.  Den  we  find  dat  one  of  de 
constables  hab  seen  a  horse  and  cart  wid  two  men  in  it, 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  289 

with  negro  woman  and  child.  One  of  de  men  look  like 
Yankee — dat  what  make  him  take  notice  of  it.  We 
s'pose  dat  oder  man  went  back  to  Richmond  again." 

"That  is  all  right,  Dan,  and  you  have  done  capitally. 
Now  at  Florence  we  will  take  up  the  hunt.  It  is  a  long 
way  down  there;  and  if  they  drive  all  the  way,  as  I  hope 
they  will,  it  will  take  them  a  fortnight,  so  that  we  shall 
have  gained  a  good  deal  of  time  .on  them.  The  people 
at  the  station  are  sure  to  remember  the  three  boxes  that 
lay  there  for  so  long  without  being  claimed.  Of  course 
they  may  have  driven  only  till  they  got  fairly  out  of 
reach.  Then  they  may  either  have  sold  the  horse  and 
trap,  or  the  fellow  Pearson  has  with  him  may  have  driven 
it  back.  But  I  should  think  they  would  most  likely  sell 
it.  In  that  case  they  would  not  be  more  than  a  week 
from  the  time  they  left  Richmond  to  the  time  they  took 
train  again  for  the  south.  However,  whether  they  have 
got  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks'  start  of  us  will  not  make 
much  difference.  With  the  description  we  can  give  of 
Pearson,  and  the  fact  that  there  was  a  negress  and  child, 
and  those  three  boxes,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  trace  him/* 

It  was  twelve  at  night  when  the  train  arrived  at  Flor- 
ence. As  nothing  could  be  done  until  next  morning  Vin- 
cent went  to  a  hotel.  As  soon  as  the  railway  officials 
were  likely  to  be  at  their  offices  he  was  at  the  station 
again.  The  tip  of  a  dollar  secured  the  attention  of  the 
man  in  the  baggage-room. 

"Three  boxes  and  a  black  bag  came  on  here  a  month 
ago,  you  say,  and  lay  here  certainly  four  or  five  days — 
perhaps  a  good  deal  longer.  Of  course  I  remember  them. 
Stood  up  in  that  corner  there.  They  had  been  checked 
right  through.  I  will  look  at  the  books  and  see  what  day 
they  went.  I  don't  remember  what  sort  of  men  fetched 
them  away.  Maybe  I  was  busy  at  the  time,  and  my  mate 
gave  them  out.  However,  I  will  look  first  and  see  when 
they  went.     What  day  do  you  say  they  got  here?" 


200  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"They  came  by  the  train  that  left  Richmond  at  six 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  20th." 

"Then  they  got  in  late  that  night  or  early  next  morn- 
ing. Ah,  the  train  was  on  time  that  day,  and  got  in  at 
half-past  nine  at  night.  Here  they  are — three  boxes  and 
a  bag,  number  15020,  went  out  on  the  28th.  Yes,  that's 
right  enough.  Now  I  will  just  ask  my  mate  if  he  re- 
members about  their  going  out." 

The  other  man  was  called.  Oh,  yes,  he  remembered 
quite  well  the  three  boxes  standing  in  the  corner.  They 
went  out  some  time  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  just  after 
the  train  came  in  from  Richmond.  He  noticed  the  man 
that  asked  for  them.  He  got  him  to  help  carry  out  the 
boxes  and  put  them  into  a  cart.  Yes,  he  remembered 
there  was  another  man  with  him,  and  a  negress  with  a 
child.  He  wondered  at  the  time  what  they  were  up  to, 
but  supposed  it  was  all  right.  Yes,  he  didn't  mind  try- 
ing to  find  out  who  had  hired  out  a  cart  for  the  job. 
Dessay  ho  could  find  out  by  to-morrow — at  any  rate  he 
would  try.     Five  dollars  are  worth  earning  anyway. 

Having  put  this  matter  in  train,  Vincent,  leaving  Dan 
zr.  Florence,  went  clown  at  once  to  Charleston.  Here, 
after  twenty-four  hours'  delay,  he  obtained  a  warrant  for 
the  arrest  of  Jonas  Pearson  and  others  on  the  charge  of 
kidnaping,  and  then  returned  to  Florence.  He  found 
that  the  railway  man  had  failed  in  obtaining  any  informa- 
tion as  to  the  cart,  and  concluded  it  must  have  come  in 
from  the  country  on  purpose  to  meet  the  train. 

"At  any  rate,"  Vincent  said,  "it  must  be  within  a 
pretty  limited  range  of  country.  The  railway  makes  a 
bend  from  Wilmington  to  this  place  and  then  down  to 
Charleston,  so  this  is  really  the  nearest  station  to  only  a 
small  extent  of  country." 

"That's  so,"  the  railway  man  said.  He  had  heard  from 
Dan  a  good  deal  about  the  case,  and  had  got  thoroughly 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  291 

interested  in  it.  "Either  Marion  or  Kingstree  "would  be 
nearer,  one  way  or  the  other,  to  most  of  the  swamp 
country.  So  it  can't  be  as  far  as  Conwayborough  on  the 
north  or  Georgetown  on  the  south,  and  it  must  lie  some- 
where between  Jeffries'  Creek  and  Lynch's  Creek;  any- 
how it  would  be  in  Marion  County — that's  pretty  nigh 
sure.  So  if  I  were  you  I  would  take  rail  back  to  Marion 
Courthouse,  and  see  the  sheriff  there  and  have  a  talk 
over  the  matter  with  him.  You  haven't  got  much  to  go 
upon,  because  this  man  you  are  after  has  been  away  from 
here  a  good  many  years  and  won't  be  known;  besides, 
likely  enough  he  went  by  some  other  name  down  here. 
Anyhow,  the  sheriff  can  put  you  up  to  the  roads,  and  the 
best  way  of  going  about  the  job." 

"I  think  that  would  be  the  best  way,"  Vincent  said. 
"We  shall  be  able  to  see  the  county  m  ip  too  and  to  learn 
all  the  geography  of  the  place." 

"You  have  got  your  six-shooters  with  you,  I  suppose, 
because  you  are  as  likely  as  not  to  have  to  use  them?" 

"Yes,  we  have  each  got  a  Colt;  and  as  I  have  had  a 
good  deal  of  practice,  it  would  be  awkward  for  Pearson  if 
he  gives  me  occasion  to  use  it." 

"After  what  I  hear  of  the  matter,"  the  man  said,  "I 
should  say  your  best  plan  is  just  to  shoot  him  at  sight. 
It's  what  would  serve  him  right.  You  bet  there  will  be  no 
fuss  over  it.     It  will  save  you  a  lot  of  trouble  anyway." 

Vincent  laughed. 

"My  advice  is  good,"  the  man  went  on  earnestly. 
"They  are  a  rough  lot  down  there,  and  hang  together. 
You  will  have  to  do  it  sudden,  whatever  you  do,  or  you 
will  get  the  hull  neighborhood  up  agin  you." 

On  reaching  Marion  Courthouse  they  sought  out  the 
sheriff,  produced  the  warrant  signed  by  the  States' 
authority,  and  explained  the  whole  circumstances. 

"I  am  ready  to  aid  you  in  any  way  I  can,"  the  sheriff 


292  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

said  when  he  concluded;  "but  the  question  is,  where  has 
the  fellow  got  to?  You  see  he  may  be  anywhere  in  this 
tract;"  and  he  pointed  out  a  circle  on  the  map  of  the 
county  that  hung  against  the  wall.  "That  is  about  fifty 
miles  across,  and  a  pretty  nasty  spot,  I  can  tell  you. 
There  are  wide  swamps  on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  and 
rice  grounds  and  all  sorts.  There  ain't  above  three  or 
four  villages  altogether,  but  there  may  be  two  or  three 
hundred  little  plantations  scattered  about,  some  big  and 
some  little.  We  haven't  got  anything  to  guide  us  in  the 
slightest,  not  a  thing,  as  I  can  see." 

"The  man  who  was  working  under  Pearson,  when  he 
was  with  us,  told  me  he  had  got  the  notion  that  he  had 
had  to  leave  on  account  of  some  trouble  here.  Possibly 
that  might  afford  a  clew." 

"It  might  do  so,"  the  sheriff  said.  "When  did  he 
come  to  you?" 

"I  think  it  was  when  I  was  six  or  seven  years  old. 
That  would  be  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  ago;  but, 
of  course,  he  may  not  have  come  direct  to  us  after  leav- 
ing here." 

"We  can  look  anyway,"  the  sheriff  said,  and,  opening 
a  chest,  he  took  out  a  number  of  volumes  containing  the 
records  of  his  predecessors.  "Twelve  years  ago!  Well, 
this  is  the  volume.  Now,  Captain  Wingfield,  I  have  got 
some  other  business  in  hand  that  will  take  me  a  couple  of 
hours.  I  will  leave  you  out  this  volume  and  the  one  be- 
fore it  and  the  one  after  it,  and  if  you  like  to  go  through 
them  you  may  come  across  the  description  of  some  man 
wanted  that  agrees  with  that  of  the  man  you  are  in  search 
of." 

It  took  Vincent  two  hours  and  a  half  to  go  through  the 
volume,  but  he  met  with  no  description  answering  to  that 
of  Pearson. 

"I  will  go  through  the  first  six  months  of  the  next 


WITH  LEE  IN  YIEGLWIA.  293 

year,"  he  said  to  himself,  taking  up  that  volume,  "and 
the  last  six  months  of  the  year  before." 

The  second  volume  yielded  no  better  result,  and  he 
then  turned  back  to  the  first  of  the  three  books.  Begin- 
ning in  July,  he  read  steadily  on  until  he  came  to  De- 
cember. Scarcely  had  he  begun  the  record  of  that 
month  than  he  uttered  an  exclamation  of  satisfaction. 

"December  2d. — Information  laid  against  gang  at 
Porter's  Station,  near  Lynch's  Creek.  Charged  with 
several  robberies  and  murders  in  different  parts  of  the 
county.  Long  been  suspected  of  having  stills  in  the 
swamps.  Gang  consists  of  four  besides  Porter  himself. 
Names  of  gang,  Jack  Haverley,  Jim  Corben,  and  John, 
and  James  Porter.  Ordered  out  posse  to  start  to-mor- 
row." 

"December  5th. — Eeturned  from  Porter's  Station. 
Surprised  the  gang.  They  resisted.  Haverley,  Corben, 
and  James  Porter  shot.  John  Porter  escaped,  and  took 
to  swamp.  Four  of  posse  wounded;  one,  William  Han- 
nay,  killed.  Circulated  description  of  John  Porter 
through  the  county.  Tall  and  lean;  when  fifteen  years 
old  shot  a  man  in  a  brawl,  and  went  north.  Has  been 
absent  thirteen  years.  Assumed  the  appearance  of  a 
northern  man  and  speaks  with  Yankee  twang.  Father 
was  absent  at  the  time  of  attack.  Captured  three  hours 
after.  Declares  he  knows  nothing  about  doings  of  the 
gang.  Haverley  and  Corben  were  friends  of  his  sons. 
Came  and  went  when  they  liked.  Will  be  tried  on  the 
15th." 

On  the  16th  there  was  another  entry: 

"William  Porter  sentenced  to  three  years'  imprison- 
ment for  giving  shelter  to  gang  of  robbers.  Evidence 
wanting  to  show  he  took  any  actual  part  in  their  crimes." 

The  sheriff  had  been  in  and  out  several  times  during 
the  five  hours  tnat  Vincent's  search  had  taken  up.  When 
he  returned  again  Vincent  pointed  out  the  entry  he  had 
found. 


294  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised  if  that's  our  man,59 
the  sheriff  said.  "1  know  old  Porter  well,  for  he  is  still 
alive  and  bears  a  pretty  bad  reputation  still,  though  we 
have  never  been  able  to  bring  him  to  book.  1  remember 
all  the  circumstances  of  that  affair,  for  I  served  upon  the 
posse.  While  Porter  was  in  prison  his  house  was  kept 
for  him  by  a  married  daughter  and  her  husband.  There 
was  a  strong  suspicion  that  the  man  was  one  of  the  gang 
too,  but  we  couldn't  prove  it.  They  have  lived  there 
ever  since.  They  have  got  five  or  six  field  hands, 
and  are  said  to  be  well  off.  "We  have  no  doubt  they 
have  got  a  still  somewhere  in  the  swamps,  but  we 
have  never  been  able  to  find  it.  I  will  send  a  man 
off  to-morrow  to  make  inquiries  whether  any  stranger  has 
arrived  there  lately.  Of  course,  Pearson  will  not  have 
kept  that  name,  and  he  will  not  have  appeared  as  John 
Porter,  for  he  would  be  arrested  on  a  fresh  warrant  at 
once  for  his  share  in  that  former  business.  I  think, 
Captain  Wingfield,  you  had  better  register  at  the  hotel 
here  under  some  other  name.  I  don't  suppose  that  he 
has  any  fear  of  being  tracked  here;  still  it  is  just  possible 
his  father  may  have  got  somebody  here  and  at  Florence 
to  keep  their  eyes  open  and  let  him  know  if  there  are  any 
inquiries  being  made  by  strangers  about  a  missing  negress. 
One  cannot  be  too  careful.  If  he  got  the  least  hint,  his 
son  and  the  woman  would  be  hidden  away  in  the  swamps 
before  we  could  get  there,  and  there  would  be  no  saying 
when  we  could  find  him." 

Vincent  took  the  sheriff's  advice,  and  entered  his  name 
in  the  hotel  book  as  Mr.  Vincent.  Late  in  the  evening 
the  sheriff  came  round  to  him. 

"I  have  just  sent  summonses  to  six  men.  I  would 
rather  have  had  two  or  three  more,  but  young  men  are 
very  scarce  around  here  now;  and  as  with  you  and  myself 
that  brings  it  up  to  eight  that  ought  to  be  sufficient,  as 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  295 

these  fellows  will  have  no  time  to  summon  any  of  their 
friends  to  their  assistance.  Have  you  a  rifle,  Captain 
Wingfield?" 

"No;  I  have  a  brace  of  revolvers." 

"They  are  useful  enough  for  close  work/'  the  sheriff 
said,  "but  if  they  see  us  coming,  and  barricade  their 
house  and  open  fire  upon  us,  you  will  want  something 
that  carries  further  than  a  revolver.  I  can  lend  you  a 
rifle  as  well  as  a  horse  if  you  will  accept  them." 

Vincent  accepted  the  offer  with?thanks.  The  next 
morning  at  daylight  he  went  round  to  the  sheriff's  house, 
where  six  determined-looking  men,  belonging  to  the  town 
or  neighboring  farms,  were  assembled.  Slinging  the 
rifle  that  the  sheriff  handed  him  across  his  back,  Vincent 
at  once  mounted,  and  the  party  set  off  at  a  brisk  trot. 

"My  man  came  back  half  an  hour  ago,"  the  sheriff 
said  to  Vincent  as  they  rode  along.  "He  found  out  that 
a  man  answering  to  your  description  arrived  with  another 
at  Porter's  about  a  fortnight  ago,  and  is  staying  there 
still.  Whether  they  brought  a  negress  with  them  or  not 
no  one  seems  to  have  noticed.  However,  there  is  not  a 
shadow  of  doubt  that  it  is  our  man,  and  I  shall  be  heartily 
glad  to  lay  hold  of  him;  for  a  brother  of  mine  was  badly 
wounded  in  that  last  affair,  and  though  he  lived  some 
years  afterward  he  was  never  the  same  man  again.  So  I 
have  a  personal  interest  in  it,  you  see." 

"How  far  is  it  to  Porter's?" 

"About  thirty-five  miles.  We  shall  get  there  about 
two  o'clock,  I  reckon.  We  are  all  pretty  well  mounted 
and  can  keep  at  this  pace,  with  a  break  or  two,  till  we 
get  there.  I  propose  tnat  we  dismount  when  we  get 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  place.  We  will  try  and  get  hold 
of  some  one  who  knows  the  country  well,  and  get  him  to 
lead  three  of  us  round  through  the  edge  of  the  swamp  to 
the  back  of  the  house.     It  stands  within  fifty  yards  of 


296  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

the  swamp.  I  have  no  doubt  they  put  it  there  so  that 
they  might  escape  if  pressed,  and  also  to  prevent  their 
being  observed  going  backward  and  forward  to  that  still  of 
theirs." 

This  plan  was  followed  out.  A  negro  lad  was  found 
who,  ou  the  promise  of  a  couple  of  dollars,  agreed  to  act 
as  guide.  Three  of  the  party  were  then  told  off  to  follow 
him,  and  the  rest,  after  waiting  for  half  an  hour  to  allow 
them  to  make  the  detour,  mounted  their  horses  and  rode 
down  at  a  gallop  to  the  house.  When  they  were  within  a 
short  distance  of  it  they  heard  a  shout,  and  a  man  who 
was  lounging  near  the  door  ran  inside.  Almost  instantly 
they  saw  the  shutters  swing  back  across  the  windows,  and 
when  they  drew  up  fifty  yards  from  the  door  the  barrels 
of  four  rifles  were  pushed  out  through  slits  in  the  shutters. 

The  sheriff  held  up  his  hand.  "William  Porter,  1  want 
a  word  with  you." 

A  shutter  in  an  upper  room  opened,  and  an  elderly 
man  appeared  with  a  rifle  in  his  hand. 

"William  Porter,"  the  sheriff  said,  "I  have  a  warrant 
for  the  arrest  of  two  men  now  in  your  house  on  the  charge 
of  kidnaping  a  female  slave,  the  property  of  Captain  Wing- 
field  here.  I  have  no  proof  that  you  had  any  share  in 
the  matter,  or  that  you  are  aware  that  the  slave  was  not 
honestly  obtained.  In  the  second  place,  I  have  a  war- 
rant for  the  arrest  of  your  son  John  Porter,  now  in  your 
house  and  passing  recently  under  the  name  of  Jonas 
Pearson,  on  the  charge  of  resisting  and  killing  the  officers 
of  the  law  on  the  5th  of  December,  1851.  I  counsel  you 
to  hand  over  these  men  to  me  without  resistance.  You 
know  what  happened  when  your  sons  defied  the  law  be- 
fore, and  what  will  happen  now  if  you  refuse  compli- 
ance." 

"Yah!"  the  old  man  shouted.  "Do  you  suppose  we 
are  going  to  give  in  to  five  men?     Not  if  we  know  it. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  297 

Now,  I  warn  you,  move  yourself  off  while  I  let  you,  else 
you  will  get  a  bullet  in  you  before  I  count  three." 

"Very  well,  then.  You  must  take  the  consequences," 
the  sheriff  replied,  and  at  once  called  the  party  to  fall 
back. 

"We  must  dismount,"  he  said  in  answer  to  Vincent's 
look  of  surprise;  "they  would  riddle  us  here  on  horse- 
back in  the  open.  Besides  we  must  dismount  to  break  in 
the  door." 

They  rode  back  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  then  dis- 
mounted. The  sheriff  took  two  heavy  axes  that  hung 
from  his  saddle,  and  handed  them  to  two  of  the  men. 

"I  reckoned  we  should  have  trouble,"  he  said.  "How- 
ever, I  hope  we  shan't  have  to  use  these.  My  idea  is  to 
crawl  up  through  the  cornfield  until  we  are  within  shoot- 
ing distance,  and  then  to  open  fire  at  the  loopholes. 
They  have  never  taken  the  trouble  to  grub  up  the 
stumps,  and  each  man  must  look  out  for  shelter.  I  want 
to  make  it  so  hot  for  them  that  they  will  try  to  bolt  to 
the  swamp,  and  in  that  case  they  will  be  covered  by  the 
men  there.  I  told  them  not  to  fire  until  they  got  quite 
close;  so  they  ought  to  dispose  of  three  of  them,  and  as 
they  have  got  pistols  they  will  be  able  to  master  the 
others;  besides,  directly  we  hear  firing  behind,  we  shall 
jump  up  and  make  a  rush  round.  Do  you,  sir,  and 
James  Wilkins  here,  stop  in  front.  Two  of  them  might 
make  a  rush  out  behind,  and  the  others,  when  they  have 
drawn  us  off,  bolt  in  front." 

Several  shots  were  fired  at  the  party  as  they  made  their 
way  across  to  the  end  of  the  field,  where  the  tall  stalks  of 
maize  were  still  standing,  though  the  corn  had  been 
gathered  weeks  before.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the 
shelter  they  separated,  each  crawling  through  the  maize 
until  they  arrived  within  fifty  yards  of  the  house.  There 
were,  as  the  sheriff  had  said,  many  stumps  still  standing, 


298  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

and  each  ensconced  himself  behind  one  of  these,  and  be- 
gan to  reply  to  the  fire  that  the  defenders  had  kept  up 
whenever  they  saw  a  movement  among  the  cornstalks. 

At  such  a  distance  the  shutters  were  but  of  slight  ad- 
vantage to  the  defenders  of  the  house;  for  the  assailants 
were  all  good  shots,  and  the  loopholes  afforded  excellent 
targets  at  such  a  distance.  After  a  few  shots  had  been 
fired  from  the  house  the  fire  of  the  defenders  ceased,  the 
men  within  not  daring  to  protrude  the  rifles  through  the 
loopholes,  as  every  such  appearance  was  instantly  fol- 
lowed by  a  couple  of  shots  from  the  corn  patch. 

"Give  me  one  of  those  axes,"  the  sheriff  said.  "Now, 
Withers,  do  you  make  a  rush  with  me  to  the  door.  Get 
your  rifle  loaded  before  you  start,  and  have  your  revolver 
handy  in  your  belt.  Now,  Captain  Wingfield,  do  you 
and  the  other  two  keep  a  sharp  lookout  at  the  loopholes, 
and  see  that  they  don't  get  a  shot  at  us  as  we  run.  Now, 
Withers,"  and  the  sheriff  ran  forward.  Two  rifles  were 
protruded  through  the  loopholes.  Vincent  and  his  com- 
panions fired  at  once.  One  of  the  rifles  gave  a  sharp  jerk 
and  disappeared,  the  other  was  fired,  and  Withers 
dropped  his  ax,  but  still  ran  forward.  The  sheriff  began 
an  onslaught  at  the  door,  his  companion's  right  arm  be- 
ing useless.  A  minute  later  the  sharp  crack  of  rifles  was 
heard  in  the  rear,  and  the  sheriff  and  two  men  rushed  in 
that  direction,  while  Vincent  and  the  other  lay  watching 
the  door.  Scarcely  had  the  sheriff's  party  disappeared 
round  the  house  than  the  door  was  thrown  open,  and 
Pearson  ran  out  at  full  speed.  Vincent  leaped  to  his 
feet. 

"Surrender,"  he  said,  "or  you  are  a  dead  man." 

Jonas  paused  for  a  moment  with  a  loud  imprecation, 
and  then  leveling  a  revolver,  fired.  Vincent  felt  a  mo- 
ment's pain  in  the  cheek,  but  before  he  could  level  his 
rifle  his  companion  fired,  and  Pearson  fell  forward  dead. 
A  minute  later  the  sheriff  and  his  party  ran  round. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  299 

"Have  you  got  him?"  lie  asked. 

"He  will  give  no  more  trouble,  sheriff,"  the  young 
man  who  fired  said.  "I  fancy  I  had  him  plumb  between 
the  eyes.     How  about  the  others?" 

"Dick  Matheson  is  killed;  he  got  two  bullets  in  his 
body.  The  other  man  is  badly  wounded.  There  are  no 
signs  of  old  Porter." 

They  now  advanced  to  the  door,  which  stood  open. 
As  the  sheriff  entered  there  was  a  sharp  report,  and  he 
fell  back  shot  through  the  heart.  The  rest  made  a  rush 
forward.  Another  shot  was  fired,  but  this  missed  them, 
and  before  it  could  be  repeated  they  had  wrested  the 
pistol  from  the  hand  of  Matheson's  wife.  She  was  firmly 
secured,  and  they  then  entered  the  kitchen,  where, 
crouched  upon  the  floor,  lay  some  seven  or  eight  negro 
men  and  women  in  an  agony  of  terror.  Vincent's  ques- 
tion, "Dinah,  where  are  you?"  was  answered  by  a  scream 
of  delight;  and  Dinah,  who  had  been  covering  her  child 
with  her  body,  leaped  to  her  feet. 

"It's  all  right,  Dinah,"  Vincent  said;  "but  stay  here, 
we  haven't  finished  this  business  yet." 

"I  fancy  the  old  man's  upstairs,"  one  of  the  men  said. 
"It  was  his  rifle,  I  reckon,  that  disappeared  when  we 
fired." 

It  was  as  he  expected.  Porter  was  found  dead  behind 
the  loophole,  a  bullet  having  passed  through  his  brain. 
The  deputy-sheriff,  who  was  with  the  party,  now  took 
the  command.  A  cart  and  horse  were  found  in  an  out- 
building; in  these  the  wounded  man,  who  was  one  of 
those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  abduction  of  Dinah,  was 
placed,  together  with  the  female  prisoner  and  the  dead 
body  of  the  sheriff.  The  negroes  were  told  to  follow; 
and  the  horses  having  been  fetched  the  party  mounted 
and  rode  off  to  the  next  village,  five  miles  on  their  way 
back.     Here  they  halted  for  the  night,  and  the  next  day 


300  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

went  on  to  Marion  Courthouse,  Viucent  hiring  a  cart  for 
the  conveyance  of  Dinah  and  the  other  women.  It  waa 
settled  that  Vincent's  attendance  at  the  trial  of  the  two 
prisoners  would  not  be  necessary,  as  the  man  would  be 
tried  for  armed  resistance  to  the  law,  and  the  woman  for 
murdering  the  sheriff.  The  facts  could  be  proved  by 
other  witnesses,  and  as  there  could  be  no  doubt  about  ob- 
taining convictions,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  try  the 
charge  against  the  man  for  kidnaping.  Next  day,  ac- 
cordingly, Vincent  started  with  Dinah  and  Dan  for  Rich- 
mond. Two  months  afterward  he  saw  in  the  paper  that 
Jane  Matheson  had  been  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for 
life,  the  man  to  fourteen  years. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  301 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 

CHAKCELLOKSVILLE. 

The  news  of  the  fight  between  the  sheriff's  posse  and 
the  band  at  Lynch's  Creek  was  telegraphed  to  the  Eich- 
mond  papers  by  their  local  agent  upon  the  day  after  it 
occurred.  The  report  said  that  Captain  Wingfield,  a 
young  officer  who  had  frequently  distinguished  himself, 
had  followed  the  traces  of  a  gang,  one  of  whom  was  a 
notorious  criminal  who  had  evaded  the  pursuit  of  the  law 
and  escaped  from  that  section  fifteen  years  ago,  and  had, 
under  an  assumed  name,  been  acting  as  overseer  at  Mrs. 
Wingfield's  estate  of  the  Orangery.  These  men  had  car- 
ried off  a  negress  belonging  to  Mrs.  Wingfield,  and  had 
taken  her  down  South.  Captain  Wingfield,  having  ob- 
tained the  assistance  of  the  sheriff  with  a  posse  of  deter- 
mined men,  rode  to  the  place  which  served  as  headquar- 
ters for  the  gang.  Upon  being  summoned  to  surrender 
the  men  opened  a  fire  upon  the  sheriff  and  his  posse.  A 
sharp  fight  ensued,  in  which  the  sheriff  was  killed  and 
one  of  his  men  wounded;  while  the  four  members  of  the 
gang  were  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  It  was  re- 
ported that  a  person  occupying  a  position  as  a  planter  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Eichmond  is  connected  with  this 
gang. 

The  reporter  had  obtained  his  news  from  Vincent,  who 
had  purposely  refrained  from  mentioning  the  names  of 
those  who  had  fallen.  He  had  already  had  a  conversation 
with  the  wounded  prisoner.     The  latter  had  declared  that 


302  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

he  had  simply  acted  in  the  affair  as  he  had  been  paid  to  do 
by  the  man  he  knew  in  Kichmond  as  Pearson,  who  told 
him  that  he  wanted  him  to  aid  in  carrying  off  a  slave 
woman,  who  was  really  his  property,  but  had  been  fraudu- 
lently taken  from  him.  He  had  heard  him  say  that  there 
was  another  interested  in  the  affair,  Avho  had  his  own  rea- 
sons for  getting  the  woman  out  of  the  way,  and  had  paid 
handsomely  for  the  job.  Who  that  other  was  Pearson 
had  never  mentioned. 

Vincent  saw  that  he  had  no  absolute  evidence  against 
Jackson,  and  therefore  purposely  suppressed  the  fact 
that  Pearson  was  among  the  killed  in  hopes  that  the 
paragraph  would  so  alarm  Jackson  that  he  would  at  once 
decamp.  His  anticipations  were  entirely  justified;  for 
upon  the  day  of  his  return  to  Richmond  he  saw  a  notice 
in  the  paper  that  the  Cedars,  with  its  field  hands,  houses, 
and  all  belonging  to  it,  was  for  sale.  He  proceeded  at 
once  to  the  estate  agent,  and  learned  from  him  that  Jack- 
son had  come  in  two  days  before  and  had  informed  him 
that  sudden  and  important  business  had  called  him  away, 
and  that  he  was  starting  at  once  for  New  York,  where  his 
presence  was  urgently  required,  and  that  he  should  attempt 
to  get  through  the  lines  immediately.  He  had  asked 
him  what  he  thought  the  property  and  slaves  would 
fetch.  Being  acquainted  with  the  estate,  he  had  given 
him  a  rough  estimate,  and  had,  upon  Jackson's  giving 
him  full  power  to  sell,  advanced  him  two-thirds  of  the 
sum.  Jackson  had  apparently  started  at  once;  indeed, 
he  had  told  him  that  he  should  take  the  next  train  as  far 
North  as  he  could  get. 

Vincent  received  the  news  with  great  satisfaction.  He 
had  little  doubt  that  Jackson  had  really  made  down  to 
the  South,  and  that  he  would  try  to  cross  the  lines  there, 
his  statement  that  he  intended  to  go  direct  North  being 
merely    Intended   to   throw    his   pursuers    off   his    track 


WITH  LME  m  VIRGINIA.  303 

should  a  warrant  be  issued  against  him.  However,  it 
mattered  little  which  way  Jackson  had  gone,  so  that  he 
had  left  the  State.  There  was  little  chance  of  his  ever 
returning;  for  even  when  he  learned  that  his  confederate 
in  the  business  had  been  killed  in  the  fight,  he  could  not 
be  certain  that  the  prisoner  who  had  been  taken  was  not 
aware  of  the  share  he  had  in  the  business. 

A  fortnight  later  Vincent  went  down  into  Georgia  and 
brought  back  Lucy  Kingston  for  a  visit  to  his  mother. 
She  had  already  received  a  letter  from  her  father  in  reply 
to  one  she  had  written  after  reaching  her  aunt's  protec- 
tion, saying  how  delighted  he  was  to  hear  that  she  had 
crossed  the  lines,  for  that  he  had  suffered  the  greatest 
anxiety  concerning  her,  and  had  continually  reproached 
himself  for  not  sending  her  away  sooner.  He  said  that 
he  was  much  pleased  with  her  engagement  to  Captain 
Wingfield,  whom  he  did  not  know  personally,  but  of 
whom  he  heard  the  most  favorable  reports  from  various 
Virginian  gentlemen  to  whom  he  had  spoken  since  the 
receipt  of  her  letter. 

Lucy  remained  at  Richmond  until  the  beginning  of 
March,  when  Vincent  took  her  home  to  Georgia  again, 
and  a  week  after  his  return  rejoined  the  army  on  the 
Rappahannock.  Every  effort  had  been  made  by  the  Con- 
federate authorities  to  raise  the  army  of  General  Lee  to  a 
point  that  would  enable  him  to  cope  with  the  tremendous 
force  the  enemy  were  collecting  for  the  ensuing  cam- 
paign. The  drain  of  men  was  now  telling  terribly,  and 
Lee  had  at  the  utmost  40,000  to  oppose  the  160,000  col- 
lected under  General  Hooker. 

The  first  fight  of  the  campaign  had  already  taken  place 
when  Vincent  rejoined  the  army.  A  body  of  3,000  Federal 
cavalry  had  crossed  the  river  on  the  17th  of  March  at 
Kelley's  Ford,  but  had  been  met  by  General  Fitzhugh  Lee 
with  about  800  cavalry,  and  after  a  long  and  stubborn 


304  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

conflict  had  been  driven  back  with  heavy  loss  across  the 
river.  It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  April  that  the 
enemy  began  to  move  in  earnest.  Every  ford  was  watched 
by  Stuart's  cavalry,  and  the  frequent  attempts  made  by 
the  Federal  horse  to  push  across  to  obtain  information 
were  always  defeated. 

On  the  27th  of  April  General  Hooker's  preparations 
were  complete.  His  plan  of  action  was  that  20,000  men 
should  cross  the  river  near  the  old  battlefield  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, and  thus  lead  the  Confederates  to  believe 
that  this  was  the  point  of  attack.  The  main  body  were, 
however,  to  cross  at  Kelley's  Ford,  many  miles  higher  up 
the  river,  and  to  march  down  toward  Fredericksburg. 
The  other  force  was  then  to  recross,  march  up  the  river, 
cross  at  Kelley's  Ford,  and  follow  and  join  the  main 
army.  At  the  gaaap  time  the  Federal  cavalry,  which  was 
very  numerous  and  well-organized,  was,  under  General 
Sfconeman,  to  strike  down  through  the  country  toward 
Eichmond,  and  thus  cut  the  Confederate  communication 
with  their  capital,  and  so  prevent  Longstreet's  division, 
which  was  lying  near  Richmond,  from  rejoining  Lee. 

The  passage  of  the  river  was  effected  at  the  two  fords 
without  resistance  on  the  29th  of  April,  and  upon  the 
same  day  the  cavalry  column  marched  south.  General  Lee 
directed  a  portion  of  his  cavalry  under  General  Fitzhngh 
Lee  to  harass  and  delay  this  column  as  much  as  possible. 
Although  he  had  with  him  but  a  few  hundred  men,  he 
succeeded  in  doing  good  service  in  cutting  off  detached 
bodies  of  the  enemy,  capturing  many  officers  and  men, 
and  so  demoralizing  the  invaders  that,  after  pushing  on 
as  far  as  the  James  River,  Stoneman  had  to  retreat  in 
great  haste  across  the  Rapidan  River. 

Hooker  having  crossed  the  river,  marched  on  to  Chan- 
cellorsville, where  he  set  to  to  intrench  himself,  having  sent 
word  to  General  Sedgwick,  who  commanded  the  force 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA  S05 

that  had  crossed  near  Fredericksburg,  to  recross,  push 
round,  and  join  as  soon  as  possible.  Chancellorsville  was 
a  large  brick  mansion  standing  in  the  midst  of  fields  sur- 
rounded by  extensive  forests.  The  country  was  known 
as  the  Wilderness.  Within  a  range  of  many  miles  there 
were  only  a  few  scattered  houses.,  and  dense  thickets  and 
pine-woods  covered  the  whole  country.  Two  narrow 
roads  passed  through  the  woods,  crossing  each  other  at 
Chancellorsville;  two  other  roads  led  to  the  fords  known 
as  Ely's  Ford  and  the  United  States  Ford.  As  soon  as 
he  reached  Chancellorsville  Hooker  set  his  troops  to  work 
cutting  down  trees  and  throwing  up  earthworks  for  in- 
fantry and  redoubts  for  artillery,  erecting  a  double  line  of 
defenses.  On  these  he  mounted  upward  of  a  hundred 
pieces  of  artillery,  commanding  the  narrow  roads  by 
which  an  enemy  must  approach,  for  the  thickets  were  in 
many  places  so  dense  as  to  render  it  impossible  for  troops 
to  force  their  way  through  them. 

When  Sedgwick  crossed  the  river,  Lee  drew  up  his 
army  to  oppose  him;  but  finding  that  no  more  troops 
crossed,  and  that  Sedgwick  did  not  advance,  he  soon 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  was  not  the  point  at 
which  the  enemy  intended  to  attack,  and  in  twenty-four 
hours  one  of  Stuart's  horsemen  brought  the  news  that 
Hooker  had  crossed  the  Eappahannock  at  Kelley's  Ford 
and  the  Eapidan  at  Ely's  Ford.  Lee  at  once  left  one 
division  to  face  General  Sedgwick,  and  ordered  the  three 
others  to  join  General  Anderson,  who  with  8,000  men 
had  fallen  back  before  Hooker's  advance,  and  taken  his 
post  at  Tabernacle  Church,  about  halfway  between  Fred- 
ericksburg and  Tabernacle.  Lee  himself  Tode  forward  at 
once  and  joined  Anderson. 

Jackson  led  the  force  from  Fredericksburg,  and  pressed 
the  enemy  back  toward  Chancellorsville  until  he  ap- 
proached the  tremendous  lines  of  fortifications,  and  then 


g06  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

fell  back  to  communicate  with  Lee.  That  night  a  coun« 
cil  of  war  was  held,  and  it  was  agreed  that  an  attack  upon 
the  front  of  the  enemy's  position  was  absolutely  impos- 
sible. Hooker  himself  was  so  positive  that  his  position 
was  impregnable  that  he  issued  a  general  order  of  con- 
gratulation to  his  troops,  saying  that  "the  enemy  must 
now  ingloriously  fly  or  give  us  battle  on  our  own  ground, 
where  certain  destruction  awaits  him." 

Jackson  then  suggested  that  he  should  work  right 
round  the  "Wilderness  in  front  of  the  enemy's  position, 
march  down  until  well  on  its  flank,  and  attack  it  there, 
where  they  would  be  unprepared  for  an  assault.  The 
movement  was  one  of  extraordinary  peril.  Lee  would  be 
left  with  but  one  division  in  face  of  an  immensely  superior 
force;  Jackson  would  have  to  perform  an  arduous  march 
exposed  to  an  attack  by  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy; 
and  both  might  be  destroyed  separately  without  being 
able  to  render  the  slightest  assistance  to  each  other.  At 
daybreak  on  the  2d  of  May  Jackson  mustered  his  troops 
for  the  advance.  He  had  in  the  course  of  the  night 
caught  a  severe  cold.  In  the  hasty  march  he  had  left  his 
blankets  behind  him.  One  of  his  staff  threw  a  heavy 
cape  over  him  as  he  lay  on  the  wet  ground.  During  the 
night  Jackson  woke,  and  thinking  that  the  young  officer 
might  himself  be  suffering  from  the  want  of  his  cape, 
rose  quietly,  spread  the  cape  over  him,  and  lay  down 
without  it.  The  consequence  was  a  severe  cold,  which 
terminated  in  an  attack  of  pneumonia  that,  occurring  at  a 
time  when  he  was  enfeebled  by  his  wounds,  resulted  in 
his  death.  If  he  had  not  thrown  that  cape  over  the 
officer  it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  survived  his 
wounds. 

At  daybreak  the  column  commenced  its  march.  It 
had  to  traverse  a  narrow  and  unfrequented  road  through 
dense  thickets,  occasionally  crossing  ground  in  sight  * " 


WITH  LEE  m  VIBGINIA.  307 

the  enemy,  and  at  the  end  to  attack  a  tremendous  posi- 
tion held  by  immensely  superior  forces.  Stuart  with  his 
cavalry  moved  on  the  flank  of  the  column  whenever  the 
ground  was  open,  so  as  to  conceal  the  march  of  the  in- 
fantry from  the  enemy.  As  the  rear  of  the  column 
passed  a  spot  called  the  Furnace,  the  enemy  suddenly  ad- 
vanced and  cut  off  the  23d  Georgia,  who  were  in  the  rear 
of  the  column,  and  captured  the  whole  regiment  with  the 
exception  of  a  score  of  men.  At  this  point  the  road 
turned  almost  directly  away  from  Ohancellorsville,  and 
the  enemy  believed  that  the  column  was  in  full  retreat, 
and  had  not  the  least  idea  of  its  real  object. 

So  hour  after  hour  the  troops  pressed  on  until  they 
reached  the  turnpike  road  passing  east  and  west  through 
Chancellorsvills,  which  now  lay  exactly  between  them 
and  the  point  that  they  had  left  in  the  morning.  Jack- 
son's design  was  to  advance  upon  this  line  of  road,  to  ex- 
tend his  troops  to  the  left  and  then  to  swing  round,  cut 
the  enemy's  retreat  to  the  fords,  and  capture  them  all. 
Hooker  had  already  been  joined  hy  two  of  Sedgwick's 
army  corps,  and  had  now  six  army  corps  at  Ohancellors- 
ville, while  Jackson's  force  consisted  of  22,000  men.  Lee 
remained  with  13,000  at  Tabernacle.  The  latter  general 
had  not  been  attacked,  but  had  continued  to  make  dem- 
onstrations against  the  Federal  left,  occupying  their 
attention  and  preventing  them  from  discovering  how 
large  a  portion  of  his  force  had  left  him. 

It  was  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  that  Jackson's 
troops,  having  gained  their  position,  advanced  to  the 
attack.  In  front  of  them  lay  Howard's  division  of  the 
Federals,  intrenched  in  strong  earthworks  covered  by 
felled  trees;  but  the  enemy  were  altogether  unsuspicious 
of  danger,  and  it  was  not  until  with  tumultuous  cheers 
the  Confederates  dashed  through  the  trees  and  attacked 
the  intrenchment  that  they  had  any  suspicion  of  their 


308  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

presence.  Tb-sy  ran  to  their  arms,  but  it  was  too  late. 
The  Confederates  rushed  through  the  obstacles,  climbed 
the  earthworks,  and  carried  those  in  front  of  them,  cap- 
turing 700  prisoners  and  five  guns.  The  rest  of  the 
Federal  troops  here,  throwing  away  muskets  and  guns, 
fled  in  wild  confusion.  Steadily  the  Confederates  pressed 
on,  driving  the  enemy  before  them,  and  capturing  posi- 
tion after  position,  until  the  whole  right  wing  of  the 
Federal  army  was  routed  and  disorganized.  For  three 
hours  the  Confederates  continued  their  march  without  a 
check;  but  owing  to  the  denseness  of  the  wood,  and  the 
necessity  of  keeping  the  troops  in  line,  the  advance  was 
slow,  and  night  fell  before  the  movement  could  be  com- 
pleted. One  more  hour  of  daylight  and  the  whole  Fed- 
eral army  would  have  been  cut  off  and  captured,  but  by 
eight  o'clock  the  darkness  in  the  forest  was  so  complete 
that  all  movement  had  to  be  stopped. 

Half  an  hour  later  one  of  the  saddest  incidents  of  the 
war  took  place.  General  Jackson  with  a  few  of  his  staff 
went  forward  to  reconnoiter.  As  he  returned  toward  his 
lines,  his  troops  in  the  dark  mistook  them  for  a  recon- 
noitering  party  of  the  enemy  and  fired,  killing  or  wound- 
ing the  whole  of  them,  General  Jackson  receiving  three 
ball^  The  enemy,  who  were  but  a  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant, at  once  opened  a  tremendous  fire  with  grape  toward 
the  spot,  and  it  was  some  time  before  Jackson  could  be 
carried  off  the  field.  The  news  that  their  beloved  gen- 
eral was  wounded  was  for  some  time  kept  from  the 
troops;  but  a  whisper  gradually  spread,  and  the  grief  of 
his  soldiers  was  unbounded,  for  rather  would  they  have 
suffered  a  disastrous  defeat  than  that  Stonewall  Jackson 
should  have  fallen. 

General  Stuart  assumed  the  command,  General  Hill, 
who  was  second  in  command,  having,  with  many  other 
officers,  been  wounded  by  the  tremendous  storm  of  grape 


WITH  LEE  ffl  VIRGINIA.  309 

and  canister  that  the  Federals  poured  through  the  wood 
when  they  anticipated  an  attack.  At  daybreak  the 
troops  again  moved  forward  in  three  lines,  Stuart  placing 
his  thirty  guns  on  a  slight  ridge,  where  they  could  sweep 
the  lines  of  the  Federal  defenses.  Three  times  the  posi- 
tion was  won  and  lost;  but  the  Confederates  fought  with 
such  fury  and  resolution,  shouting  each  time  they  charged 
the  Federal  ranks  "Remember  Jackson,"  that  the  enemy 
gradually  gave  way,  and  by  ten  o'clock  Chancellorsville 
itself  was  taken,  the  Federals  being  driven  back  into  the 
forest  between  the  houses  and  the  river. 

Lee  had  early  in  the  morning  begun  to  advance  from 
his  side  to  the  attack,  but  just  as  he  was  moving  forward 
the  news  came  that  Sedgwick  had  recrossed  at  Fredericks- 
burg, captured  a  portion  of  the  Confederate  force  there, 
and  was  advancing  to  join  Hooker.  He  at  once  sent  two 
of  his  three  little  divisions  to  join  the  Confederates  who 
were  opposing  Sedgwick's  advance,  while  with  the  three 
or  four  thousand  men  remaining  to  him,  he  all  day  made 
feigned  attacks  upon  the  enemy's  position,  occupying 
their  attention  there,  and  preventing  them  from  sending 
reinforcements  to  the  troops  engaged  with  Stuart.  At 
night  he  himself  hurried  away,  took  the  command  of 
the  troops  opposed  to  Sedgwick,  attacked  him  vigorously 
at  daybreak,  and  drove  him  with  heavy  loss  back  across 
the  river.  The  next  day  he  marched  back  with  his  force 
to  join  in  the  final  attack  upon  the  Federals;  but  when 
the  troops  of  Stuart  and  Lee  moved  forward  they  en- 
countered no  opposition.  Hooker  had  begun  to  carry 
his  troops  across  the  river  on  the  night  Le  was  hurled 
back  out  of  Chancellorsville,  and  the  rest  of  his  troops 
had  crossed  on  the  two  following  nights. 

General  Hooker  issued  a  pompous  order  to  his  troops 
after  getting  across  the  river,  to  the  effect  that  the  move- 
ment had  met  with  the  complete  success  he  had  antici- 


310  WITH  LEE  IW  VIRGINIA. 

pated  from  it;  but  the  truth  soon  leaked  out.  General 
Sedgwick's  force  had  lost  6,000  men,  Hooker's  own  com- 
mand fully  20,000  more;  but  splendid  as  the  success  was, 
it  was  dearly  purchased  by  the  Confederates  at  the  price 
of  the  life  of  Stonewall  Jackson.  His  arm  was  amputated 
tKe  day  after  the  battle;  he  lived  for  a  week,  and  died 
not  so  much  from  the  effect  of  his  wounds  as  from  the 
pneumonia,  the  result  of  his  exposure  to  the  heavy  dew 
on  the  night  preceding  his  march  through  the  Wilder- 
ness. 

During  the  two  days'  fighting  Vincent  Wingfield  had 
discharged  his  duties  upon  General  Stuart's  staff.  On 
the  first  day  the  works  had  been  light,  for  General  Stuart, 
with,  the  cannon,  remained  in  the  rear,  while  Jackson's 
infantry  attacked  and  carried  the  Federal  intrenchments. 
Upon  the  second  day,  however,  when  Stuart  assumed  the 
command,  Vincent's  duties  had  been  onerous  and  dan- 
gerous in  the  extreme.  He  was  constantly  carrying  orders 
from  one  part  of  the  field  to  the  other,  amid  such  a 
shower  of  shot  and  shell  that  it  seemed  marvelous  that 
any  one  could  exist  within  it.  To  his  great  grief  "Wild- 
fire was  killed  under  him,  but  he  himself  escaped  without 
a  scratch.  When  he  came  afterward  to  try  to  describe 
the  battle  to  those  at  home  he  could  give  no  account  of  it. 

"To  me,"  he  said,  "it  was  simply  a  chaos  of  noise  and 
confusion.  Of  what  was  going  on  I  knew  nothing.  The 
din  was  appalling.  The  roar  of  the  shells,  the  hum  of 
grape  and  canister,  the  whistle  of  bullets,  the  shouts  of 
the  men,  formed  a  mighty  roar  that  seemed  to  render 
thinking  impossible.  Showers  of  leaves  fell  incessantly, 
great  boughs  of  trees  were  shorn  away,  and  trees  them- 
selves sometimes  came  crashing  down  as  a  trunk  was  struck 
full  by  a  shell.  The  undergrowth  had  caught  fire,  and  the 
thick  smoke,  mingled  with  that  of  the  battle,  rendered  it 
d,<Cmilt  to  see  or  to  breathe.     I  had  but  one  thought,  that 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  311 

of  maLing  my  way  through  the  trees,  of  finding  the 
corps  to  which  I  was  sent,  of  delivering  my  message,  and 
finding  the  general  again.  No,  I  don't  think  I  had  much 
thought  of  danger,  the  whole  thing  was  somehow  so  tre- 
mendous that  one  had  no  thought  whatever  for  one's  self. 
It  was  a  sort  of  terrible  dream,  in  which  one  was  pos- 
sessed of  the  single  idea  to  get  to  a  certain  place.  It  was 
not  till  at  last  we  swept  across  the  open  ground  down  to 
the  house  that  I  seemed  to  take  any  distinct  notice  of 
what  was  going  on  around  me.  Then,  for  the  first  time, 
the  exulting  shouts  of  the  men,  and  the  long  lines  ad- 
vancing at  the  double,  woke  me  up  to  the  fact  that  we  had 
gained  one  of  the  most  wonderful  victories  in  history, 
and  had  driven  an  army  of  four  or  five  times  our  own 
strength  from  a  position  that  they  believed  they  had 
made  impregnable." 

The  defeat  of  Hooker  for  a  time  put  a  stop  to  any 
further  advance  against  Eichmond  from  the  North.  The 
Federal  troops,  whose  term  of  service  was  up,  returned 
home,  and  it  was  months  before  all  the  efforts  of  the 
authorities  of  Washington  could  place  the  army  in  a  con- 
dition to  make  a  renewed  advance.  But  the  Confederates 
had  also  suffered  heavily.  A  third  of  the  force  with 
which  Jackson  had  attacked  had  fallen,  and  their  loss 
could  not  be  replaced,  as  the  Confederates  were  forced  to 
send  every  one  they  could  raise  to  the  assistance  of  the 
armies  in  the  West,  where  Generals  Banks  and  Grant 
were  carrying  on  operations  with  great  success  against 
them.  The  important  town  of  Vicksbnrg,  which  com- 
manded the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  was  besieged, 
and  after  a  resistance  lasting  for  some  months,  surren- 
dered, with  its  garrison  of  25,000  men,  on  the  3d  of  July, 
and  the  Federal  gunboats  were  thus  able  to  penetrate  by 
the  Mississippi  and  its  confluents  into  the  heart  of  the 
Confederacy. 


312  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  Vincent 
was  apjoointed  to  the  command  of  a  squadron  of  cavalry 
that  was  detached  from  Stuart's  force  and  sent  down  to 
Richmond  to  guard  the  capital  from  any  raids  by  bodies 
of  Federal  cavalry.  It  had  been  two  or  three  times 
menaced  by  flying  bodies  of  horsemen,  and  during  the 
cavalry  advance  before  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville 
small  parties  had  penetrated  to  within  three  miles  of  the 
city,  cutting  all  the  telegraph  wires,  pulling  up  rails,  and 
causing  the  greatest  terror.  Vincent  was  not  sorry  for 
the  change.  It  took  him  away  from  the  great  theater  of 
the  war,  but  after  Chancellorsville  he  felt  no  eager  desire 
to  take  part  in  future  battles.  His  duties  would  keep 
him  near  his  home,  and  would  give  ample  scope  for  the 
display  of  watchfulness,  dash,  and  energy.  Consequently 
he  took  no  part  in  the  campaign  that  commenced  in  the 
first  week  in  June. 

Tired  of  standing  always  on  the  defensive,  the  Confed- 
erate authorities  determined  to  carry  out  the  step  that 
had  been  so  warmly  advocated  by  Jackson  earlier  in  the 
war,  and  which  might  at  that  time  have  brought  it  to  a 
successful  termination.  They  decided  to  carry  the  war 
into  the  enemy's  country.  By  the  most  strenuous  efforts 
Lee's  army  was  raised  to  75,000  men,  divided  into  three 
great  army  corps,  commanded  by  Longstreet,  Ewell,  and 
Hill.  Striking  first  into  Western  Virginia,  they  drove 
the  Federals  from  Winchester,  and  chased  them  from  the 
State  with  the  loss  of  nearly  4,000  prisoners  and  30  guns. 
Then  they  entered  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  and  con- 
centrating at  Gettysburg  they  met  the  Northern  army 
under  Meade,  who  had  succeeded  Hooker.  Although 
great  numbers  of  the  Confederates  had  seen  their  homes 
wasted  and  their  property  wantonly  destroyed,  they  pre- 
served the  most  perfect  order  in  their  march  through  the 
North,  and  the  Federals  themselves  testify  to  the  admi- 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  313 

rable  behavior  of  the  troops,  and  to  the  manner  in  which 
they  abstained  from  plundering  or  inflicting  annoyance 
upon  the  inhabitants. 

At  Gettysburg  there  was  three  days'  fighting.  In  the 
first  a  portion  only  of  the  forces  were  engaged,  the  Fed- 
erals being  defeated  and  5,000  of  their  men  taken  pris- 
oners. Upon  the  second  the  Confederates  attacked  the 
Northerners,  who  were  posted  in  an  extremely  strong 
position,  but  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  The  follow- 
ing day  they  renewed  the  attack,  but  after  tremendous 
fighting  again  failed  to  carry  the  height.  Both  parties 
were  utterly  exhausted.  Lee  drew  up  his  troops  the  next 
day,  and  invited  an  attack  from  the  Federals;  but  con- 
tented with  the  success  they  had  gained  they  maintained 
their  position,  and  the  Confederates  then  fell  back, 
Stuart's  cavalry  protecting  the  immense  trains  of  wagons 
loaded  with  the  stores  and  ammunition  captured  in 
Pennsylvania. 

But  little  attempt  was  made  by  the  Northerners  to  in- 
terfere with  their  retreat.  On  reaching  the  Potomac 
they  found  that  a  sudden  rise  had  rendered  the  fords  im- 
passable. Intrenchments  and  batteries  were  thrown  up, 
and  for  a  week  the  Confederate  army  held  the  lines,  ex- 
pecting an  attack  from  the  enemy,  who  had  approached 
within  two  miles;  but  the  Federal  generals  were  too  well 
satisfied  with  having  gained  a  success  when  acting  on  the 
defensive  in  a  strong  position  to  risk  a  defeat  in  attacking 
the  position  of  the  Confederates,  and  their  forces  remained 
impassive  until  pontoon  bridges  were  thrown  across  the 
river,  and  the  Confederate  army,  with  their  vast  baggage 
train,  had  again  crossed  into  Virginia.  The  campaign 
had  cost  the  Northern  army  23,000  men  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners,  besides  a  considerable  number 
of  guns.  The  Confederates  lost  only  two  guns,  left  be- 
hind in  the  mud,  and  1,500  prisoners,  but  their  loss  in 


314  W1YH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA. 

killed  and  wounded  at  Gettysburg  exceeded  10,000  men. 
Even  the  most  sanguine  among  the  ranks  of  the  Confed- 
eracy were  now  conscious  that  the  position  was  a  desper- 
ate one.  The  Federal  armies  seemed  to  spring  from  the 
ground.  Strict  discipline  had  taken  the  place  of  the  dis- 
order and  insubordination  that  had  first  prevailed  in  their 
ranks.  The  armies  were  splendidly  equipped.  They 
were  able  to  obtain  any  amount  of  the  finest  guns,  rifles, 
and  ammunition  of  war  from  the  workshops  of  Europe; 
while  the  Confederates,  cut  off  from  the  world,  bad  to 
rely  solely  upon  the  makeshift  factories  they  had  set  up, 
and  upon  the  guns  and  stores  they  captured  from  the 
enemy. 

The  Northerners  had  now,  as  a  blow  to  the  power  of 
the  South,  abolished  slavery,  and  were  raising  regiments 
of  negroes  from  among  the  free  blacks  of  the  North,  and 
from  the  slaves  they  took  from  their  owners  wherever  their 
armies  penetrated  the  Southern  States.  Most  of  the 
Confederate  ports  had  been  either  captured  or  were  so 
strictly  blockaded  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  for  the 
blockade-runners  to  get  in  or  out,  while  the  capture  of 
the  forts  on  the  Mississippi  enabled  them  to  use  the  Fed- 
eral flotillas  of  gunboats  to  the  greatest  advantage,  and 
to  carry  their  armies  into  the  center  of  the  Confederacy. 

Still,  there  was  no  talk  whatever  of  surrender  on  the 
part  of  the  South,  and,  indeed,  the  decree  abolishing 
slavery,  and  still  more  the  action  of  the  North  in  raising 
black  regiments,  excited  the  bitterest  feeling  of  animosity 
and  hatred.  The  determination  to  fight  to  the  last, 
whatever  came  of  it,  animated  every  white  man  in  the 
Southern  States,  and,  although  deeply  disappointed  with 
the  failure  of  Lee's  invasion  of  the  North,  the  only  result 
was  to  incite  them  to  greater  exertions  and  sacrifices.  In 
the  North  an  act  authorizing  conscription  was  passed  in 
1863,  but  the  attempt  to  carry  it  into  force  caused  a  seri- 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  315 

ous  riot  in  New  York,  which  was  only  suppressed  after 
many  lives  had  been  lost  and  the  city  placed  under  mar- 
tial law. 

While  the  guns  of  Gettysburg  were  still  thundering,  a 
Federal  army  of  18,000  men  under  General  Gillmore,  as- 
sisted by  the  fleet,  had  laid  siege  to  Charleston.  It  was 
obstinately  attacked  and  defended.  The  siege  continued 
until  the  5th  of  September,  when  Fort  Wagner  was  cap- 
tured; but  all  attempts  to  take  Fort  Sumter  and  the 
town  of  Charleston  itself  failed,  although  the  city  suffered 
greatly  from  the  bombardment.  In  Tennessee  there  was 
severe  lighting  in  the  autumn,  and  two  desperate  battles 
were  fought  at  Chickamauga  on  the  19th  and  20th  of 
September,  General  Bragg,  who  commanded  the  Confed- 
erate army  there,  being  reinforced  by  Longstreet's  vet- 
erans from  the  army  of  Virginia.  After  desperate  fight- 
ing the  Federals  were  defeated,  and  thirty-six  guns  and 
vast  quantities  of  arms  captured  by  the  Confederates. 
The  fruits  of  the  victory,  however,  were  very  slight,  as 
General  Bragg  refused  to  allow  Longstreet  to  pursue, 
and  so  to  convert  the  Federal  retreat  into  a  rout,  and  the 
consequence  was  that  this  victory  was  more  than  balanced 
by  a  heavy  defeat  inflicted  upon  them  in  November  at 
Chattanooga  by  Sherman  and  Grant.  At  this  battle  Gen- 
eral Longstreet's  division  was  not  present. 

The  army  of  Virginia  had  a  long  rest  after  their  return 
from  Gettysburg,  and  it  was  not  until  November  that 
the  campaign  was  renewed.  Meade  advanced,  a  few 
minor  skirmishes  took  place,  and  then,  when  he  reached 
the  Wilderness,  the  scene  of  Hooker's  defeat,  where  Lee 
was  prepared  to  give  battle,  he  fell  back  again  across  the 
Eappahannock. 

The  year  had  been  an  unfortunate  one  for  the  Confed- 
erates. They  had  lost  Vicksburg,  and  the  defeat  at 
Chattanooga  had  led  to  the  whole  State  of  Tennessee  fall- 


316  WITH  LEE  IK  VIRGINIA. 

ing  into  the  hands  of  the  Federals,  while  against  these 
losses  there  was  no  counterbalancing  success  to  be 
reckoned. 

In  the  spring  of  1864  both  parties  prepared  to  the  ut- 
most for  the  struggle.  General  Grant,  an  officer  who 
Jiad  shown  in  the  campaign  in  the  West  that  he  pos- 
sessed considerable  military  ability,  united  with  immense 
firmness  and  determination  of  purpose,  was  chosen  as 
the  new  commander-in-chief  of  the  whole  military  force 
of  the  North.  It  was  a  mighty  army,  vast  in  numbers, 
lavishly  provided  with  all  materials  of  war.  The  official 
documents  show  that  on  the  1st  of  May  the  total  military 
forces  of  the  North  amounted  to  662,000  men.  Of  these 
the  force  available  for  the  advance  against  Eichmond 
numbered  284,630  men.  This  included  the  army  of  the 
Potomac,  that  of  the  James  Eiver,  and  the  army  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley — the  whole  of  whom  were  in  readi- 
ness to  move  forward  against  Eichmond  at  the  orders  of 
Grant. 

To  oppose  these  General  Lee  had  less  than  53,000  men, 
including  the  garrison  of  Eichmond  and  the  troops  in 
North  Carolina.  Those  stationed  in  the  seaport  towns 
numbered  in  all  another  20,000,  so  that  if  every  available 
soldier  had  been  brought  up  Lee  could  have  opposed  a 
total  of  but  83,000  men  against  the  284,000  invaders. 

In  the  West  the  numbers  were  more  equally  balanced. 
General  Sherman,  who  commanded  the  army  of  invasion 
there,  had  under  his  orders  230,000  men,  but  as  more 
than  half  this  force  was  required  to  protect  the  long  lines 
of  communication  and  to  keep  down  the  conquered 
States,  he  was  able  to  bring  into  the  field  for  offensive 
operations  99,000  men,  who  were  faced  by  the  Confeder- 
ate army  under  Johnston  of  58,000  men.  Grant's  scheme 
was,  that  while  the  armies  of  the  North  were,  under  his 
own  command,  to  march  against  Richmond,  the  army  of 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  317 

the  West  was  to  invade  Georgia  and  march  upon  Atlanta. 

His  plan  of  action  was  simple,  and  was  afterward  stated 
by  himself  to  be  as  follows:  "I  determined  first  to  use 
the  greatest  number  of  troops  practicable  against  the 
main  force  of  the  enemy,  preventing  him  from  using  the 
same  force  at  different  seasons  against  first  one  and  then 
another  of  our  armies,  and  the  possibility  of  repose  for 
refitting  and  producing  necessary  supplies  for  carrying  on 
resistance.  Second,  to  hammer  continuously  against  the 
armed  force  of  the  enemy  and  his  resources  until,  by 
mere  attrition  if  in  no  other  way,  there  should  be  nothing 
left  to  him  but  submission." 

This  was  a  terrible  programme,  and  involved  an  ex- 
penditure of  life  far  beyond  anything  that  had  taken 
place.  Grant's  plan,  in  fact,  was  to  fight  and  to  keep  on 
fighting,  regardless  of  his  own  losses,  until  at  last  the 
Confederate  army,  whose  losses  could  not  be  replaced, 
melted  away.  It  was  a  strategy  that  few  generals  have 
dared  to  practice,  fewer  still  to  acknowledge. 

On  the  4th  of  May  the  great  army  of  the  Potomac 
crossed  the  Rapidan  and  advanced  toward  Chancellors- 
ville.  Lee  moved  two  divisions  of  his  army  to  oppose 
them.  Next  morning  the  battle  began  at  daybreak  on 
the  old  ground  where  Lee  had  defeated  Hooker  the  year 
before.  All  day  long  the  division  of  Ewell  supported  the 
attack  of  the  army  corps  of  Sedgwick  and  Hancock. 
Along  a  front  of  six  miles,  in  the  midst  of  the  thick 
forest,  the  battle  raged  the  whole  of  the  day.  The  Con- 
federates, in  spite  of  the  utmost  efforts  of  the  Northern- 
ers, although  reinforced  in  the  afternoon  by  the  army 
corps  of  General  Burnside,  held  their  position,  and  when 
night  put  an  end  to  the  conflict  the  invaders  had  not 
gained  a  foot  of  ground. 

As  soon  as  the  first  gleam  of  light  appeared  in  the 
morning  the  battle  recommenced.     The  Federal  generals, 


318  WITH  LEE  IW  VIRGINIA, 

SedgwicK,  "Warren,  and  Hancock,  with  Burnside  in  its- 
serve,  fell  upon  Hill  and  Ewell.  Both  sides  had  thrown 
up  earthworks  and  felled  trees  as  a  protection  during  the 
night.  At  first  the  Confederates  gained  the  advantage; 
but  a  portion  of  Burnside's  corps  was  brought  up  and 
restored  the  battle,  while  on  the  left  flank  of  the  Fed- 
erals Hancock  had  attacked  with  such  vigor  that  the 
Confederates  opposed  to  him  were  driven  back. 

At  the  crisis  of  the  battle,  Longstreet,  who  had  marched 
all  night,  appeared  upon  the  ground,  drove  back  Han- 
cock's men,  and  was  on  the  point  of  aiding  the  Confed* 
erates  in  a  decisive  attack  upon  the  enemy,  when,  riding 
rapidly  forward  into  the  wood  to  reconnoiter,  he  was, 
like  Jackson,  struck  down  by  the  fire  of  his  own  men. 
He  was  carried  to  the  rear  desperately,  and  it  was  feared 
for  a  time  mortally  wounded,  and  his  loss  paralyzed  the 
movement  which  he  had  prepared.  Nevertheless  during 
the  whole  day  the  fight  went  on  with  varying  success, 
sometimes  one  side  obtaining  a  slight  advantage,  the 
other  then  regaining  the  ground  they  had  lost. 

Just  as  evening  was  closing  in  a  Georgia  brigade,  with 
two  other  regiments,  made  a  detour,  and  fell  furiously 
upon  two  brigades  of  the  enemy,  and  drove  them  back  in 
headlong  rout  for  a  mile  and  a  half,  capturing  their  two 
generals  and  many  prisoners.  The  artillery,  as  on  the 
previous  day,  had  been  little  used  on  either  side,  the 
work  being  done  at  short  range  with  the  rifle,  the  loss 
being  much  heavier  among  the  thick  masses  of  the 
Northerners  than  in  the  thinner  lines  of  the  Confeder- 
ates. Grant  had  failed  in  his  efforts  to  turn  Lee's  right 
and  to  accomplish  his  direct  advance;  he  therefore 
changed  his  base  and  moved  his  army  round  toward 
Spotsylvania. 

Lee  soon  perceived  his  object,  and  succeeded  in  carry- 
ing his  army  to  Spotsylvania  before  the  Federals  reached 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  319 

On  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  the  9th,  there  was  heavy 
fighting,  and  on  the  10th  another  pitched  battle  took 
place.  This  time  the  ground  was  more  open,  and  the 
artillery  was  employed  with  terrible  effect  on  both  sides. 
It  ended,  however,  as  the  previous  battles  had  done,  by 
the  Confederates  holding  their  ground. 

Upon  the  next  day  there  was  but  little  fighting.  In 
the  night  the  Federals  moved  quietly  through  the  wood, 
and  at  daybreak  four  divisions  fell  upon  Johnston's  di- 
vision of  Ewell's  corps,  took  them  completely  by  surprise, 
and  captured  the  greater  part  of  them. 

But  Lee's  veterans  soon  recovered  from  their  surprise 
and  maintained  their  position  until  noon.  Then  the 
whole  Federal  army  advanced,  and  the  battle  raged  till 
nightfall  terminated  the  struggle,  leaving  Lee  in  posses- 
sion of  the  whole  line  he  had  held,  with  the  exception  of 
the  ground  lost  in  the  morning. 

For  the  next  six  days  the  armies  faced  each  other,  worn 
out  by  incessant  fighting,  and  prevented  from  moving  by 
the  heavy  rain  which  fell  incessantly.  They  were  now 
able  to  reckon  up  the  losses.  The  Federals  found  that 
they  had  lost,  in  killed,  wounded,  or  missing,  nearly 
30,000  men;  while  Lee's  army  was  diminished  by  about 
12.000. 

♦Vhile  these  mighty  battles  had  been  raging  the  Fed- 
eral cavalry  under  Sheridan  had  advanced  rapidly  for- 
ward, and,  after  several  skirmishes  with  Stuart's  cavalry, 
penetrated  within  the  outer  intrenchments  round  Rich- 
mond. Here  Stuart  with  two  regiments  of  cavalry 
charged  them  and  drove  them  back,  but  the  gallant  Con- 
federate officer  received  a  wound  that  before  night 
proved  fatal.  His  loss  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  Con- 
federacy, although  his  successor  in  the  command  of  the 
cavalry,  General  Wade  Hampton,  was  also  an  officer  of 
the  highest  merit, 


320  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

In  the  meantime  General  Butler,  who  had  at  Fortress 
Monroe  under  his  command  two  corps  of  infantry,  4,000 
cavalry,  and  a  fleet  of  gunboats  and  transports,  was 
threatening  Eichmond  from  the  east.  Shipping  his  men 
on  board  the  transports  he  steamed  up  the  James  Eiver, 
under  convoy  of  the  fleet,  and  landed  on  a  neck  of  land 
known  as  Bermuda  Hundred.  To  oppose  him  all  the 
troops  from  North  Carolina  had  been  brought  up,  the 
whole  force  amounting  to  19,000  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Beauregard.  Butler,  after  various 
futile  movements,  was  driven  back  again  to  his  in- 
trenched camp  at  Bermuda  Hundred,  where  he  was  vir- 
tually besieged  by  Beauregard  with  10,000  men,  the  rest 
of  that  general's  force  being  sent  up  to  reinforce  Lee. 

In  Western  Virginia,  Breckenridge,  with  3,500  men, 
was  called  upon  to  hold  in  check  Sigel,  with  15,000  men. 
Advancing  to  Staunton,  Breckenridge  was  joined  by  the 
pupils  of  the  military  college  at  Lexington,  250  in  num- 
ber, lads  of  from  14  to  17  years  of  age.  He  came  upon 
Sigel  on  the  line  of  march,  and  attacked  him  at  once. 
The  Federal  general  placed  a  battery  in  a  wood  and' 
opened  fire  with  grape.  The  commander  of  the  Lexing- 
ton boys  ordered  them  to  charge,  and,  gallantly  rushing 
in  through  the  heavy  fire,  they  charged  in  among  the 
guns,  killed  the  artillerymen,  drove  back  the  infantry  sup- 
ports, and  bayoneted  their  colonel.  The  Federals  now 
retired  down  the  valley  to  Strasburg,  and  Breckenridge 
was  able  to  send  a  portion  of  his  force  to  aid  Lee  in  his 
great  struggle. 

After  his  six  days'  pause  in  front  of  Lee's  position  at 
Spotsylvania,  Grant  abandoned  his  plan  of  forcing  his 
way  through  Lee's  army  to  Richmond,  and  endeavored 
to  outflank  it;  but  Lee  again  divined  his  object,  and 
moved  round  and  still  faced  him.  After  various  move- 
ments the  armies  again  stood  face  to  face  upon  the  old 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  321 

battlegrounds  on  the  Chickahominy.  On  the  3d  of  June 
the  battle  commenced  at  half -past  four  in  the  morning. 
Hancock  at  first  gained  an  advantage,  but  Hill's  division 
dashed  down  upon  him  and  drove  him  back  with  great 
slaughter;  while  no  advantage  was  gained  by  them  in  other 
parts  of  the  field.  The  Federal  loss  on  this  day  was  13,000, 
and  the  troops  were  so  dispirited  that  they  refused  to 
renew  the  battle  in  the  afternoon. 

Grant  then  determined  to  alter  his  plan  altogether,  and 
sending  imperative  orders  to  Bu^  er  to  obtain  possession 
of  Petersburg,  embarked  Smitl  s  corps  in  transports, 
and  moved  with  the  rest  of  his  army  to  join  that  general 
there.  Smith's  corps  entered  the  James  Eiver,  landed, 
and  marched  against  Petersburg.  Beauregard  had  at 
Petersburg  only  two  infantry  and  two  cavalry  regiments 
under  General  Wise,  while  a  single  brigade  fronted 
Butler  at  Bermuda  Hundred.  With  this  handful  of 
men  he  was  called  upon  to  defend  Petersburg  and  to 
keep  Butler  bottled  up  in  Bermuda  Hundred  until  help 
could  reach  him  from  Lee.  He  telegraphed  to  Kich- 
mond  for  all  the  assistance  that  could  be  sent  to  him,  and 
was  reinforced  by  a  brigade,  which  arrived  just  in  time, 
for  Smith  had  already  captured  a  portion  of  the  intrench- 
ments,  but  was  now  driven  out. 

The  next  day  Beauregard  was  attacked  both  by  Smith's 
and  Hancock's  corps,  which  had  now  arrived.  With 
8,000  men  he  kept  at  bay  the  assaults  of  two  whole  army 
corps,  having  in  the  meantime  sent  orders  to  Gracie,  the 
officer  in  command  of  the  brigade  before  Butler,  to  leave 
a  few  sentries  there  to  deceive  that  general,  and  to  march 
with  the  rest  of  his  force  to  his  aid.  It  arrived  at  a 
critical  moment.  Overwhelmed  by  vastly  superior  num- 
bers, many  of  the  Confederates  had  left  their  posts,  and 
Breckenridge  was  in  vain  trying  to  rally  them  when 
Grade's  brigade  came  up.  The  position  was  reoccupied 
and  the  battle  continued. 


323  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

At  noon  Burnside  with  his  corps  arrived  and  joined  the 
assailants;  while  Butler,  discovering  at  last  that  the 
troops  in  front  of  him  were  withdrawn,  moved  out  and 
barred  the  road  against  reinforcements  from  Eichmond. 
Nevertheless  the  Confederates  held  their  ground  all  the 
afternoon  and  until  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  when  the 
assault  ceased. 

At  midnight  Beauregard  withdrew  his  troops  from  the 
defenses  that  they  were  too  few  to  hold,  and  set  them  to 
work  to  throw  up  fresh  intrenchments  on  a  shorter  line 
behind.  All  night  the  men  worked  with  their  bayonets, 
canteens,  and  any  tools  that  came  to  hand. 

It  was  well  for  them  that  the  enemy  were  so  exhausted 
that  it  was  noon  before  they  were  ready  to  advance  again, 
for  by  this  time  help  was  at  hand.  Anderson,  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  command  of  Long-street's  corps,  and 
was  leading  the  van  of  Lee's  army,  forced  his  way 
through  Butler's  troops  and  drove  him  back  into  the 
I  rnmda  Hundred,  and  leaving  one  brigade  to  watch 
him  marched  with  another  into  Petersburg  just  as  the 
attack  was  recommenced.  Thus  reinforced  Beauregard 
successfully  defeated  all  the  assaults  of  the  enemy  until 
night  fell.  Another  Federal  army  corps  came  up  before 
morning,  and  the  assault  was  again  renewed,  but  the 
defenders,  who  had  strengthened  their  defenses  during 
the  night,  drove  their  assailants  back  with  terrible  loss. 
The  whole  of  Lee's  army  now  arrived,  and  the  rest  of 
Grant's  army  also  came  up,  and  that  general  found  that 
after  all  his  movements  his  way  to  Richmond  was  barred 
as  before.  He  was  indeed  in  a  far  worse  position  than 
when  he  had  crossed  the  Sapidan,  for  the  morale  of  hi3 
army  was  much  injured  by  the  repeated  repulses  and 
terrible  losses  it  had  sustained.  The  new  recruits  that 
had  been  sent  to  fill  up  the  gaps  were  far  inferior  troops 
to  those  with  which  he  had  commenced  the  campaign. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  323 

To  send  forward  such  men  against  the  fortifications  of 
Petersburg  manned  by  Lee's  veteran  troops  was  to  court 
defeat,  and  he  therefore  began  to  throw  up  works  for  a 
regular  siege. 

Fighting  went  on  incessantly  between  the  outposts, 
but  only  one  great  attempt  was  made  during  the  early 
months  of  the  siege  to  capture  the  Confederate  position. 
The  miners  drove  a  gallery  under  the  works,  and  then 
drove  other  galleries  right  and  left  under  them.  These 
were  charged  with  eight  thousand  pounds  of  powder. 
When  all  was  ready,  masses  of  troops  were  brought  up  to 
take  advantage  of  the  confusion  which  would  be  caused 
by  the  explosion,  and  a  division  of  black  troops  were  to 
lead  the  assault.  At  a  quarter  to  five  in  the  morning  of 
the  30th  of  July  the  great  mine  was  exploded,  blowing 
two  guns,  a  battery,  and  its  defenders  into  the  air,  and 
forming  a  huge  pit  two  hundred  feet  long  and  sixty  feet 
wide.  Lee  and  Beauregard  hurried  to  the  scene,  checked 
the  panic  that  prevailed,  brought  up  troops,  and  before 
the  great  Federal  columns  approached  the  breach  the 
Confederates  were  ready  to  receive  them.  The  assault 
was  made  with  little  vigor,  the  approaches  to  the  breach 
were  obstructed  by  abattis,  and  instead  of  rushing  for- 
ward in  a  solid  mass  they  occupied  the  great  pit,  and 
contented  themselves  with  firing  over  the  edge  of  the 
crater,  where  regiments  and  divisions  were  huddled  to- 
gether. But  the  Confederate  batteries  were  now  manned, 
and  from  the  works  on  either  side  of  the  breach,  and 
from  behind,  they  swept  the  approaches,  and  threw  shells 
among  the  crowded  mass.  The  black  division  was  now 
brought  up,  and  entered  the  crater,  but  only  added  to 
the  confusion.  There  was  no  officer  of  sufficient  author- 
ity among  the  crowded  mass  there  to  assume  the  supreme 
command.  No  assistance  could  be  sent  to  them,  for  the 
arrival  of  fresh  troops  would  but  have  added  to  the  con- 


324  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

fusion.  All  day  the  conflict  went  on,  the  Federals  lining 
the  edge  of  the  crater,  and  exchanging  a  heavy  musketry 
fire  with  the  Confederate  infantry,  while  the  mass  below 
suffered  terribly  from  the  artillery  fire.  When  night 
closed  the  survivors  of  the  great  column  that  had 
mrirched  forward  in  the  morning,  confident  that  victory 
was  assured  to  them,  and  that  the  explosion  would  lay 
Petersburg  open  to  capture,  made  their  retreat,  the  Con- 
federates, however,  taking  a  considerable  number  of 
prisoners.  The  Federal  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  cap- 
tured was  admitted  by  them  to  be  4,000;  the  Confederate 
accounts  put  it  down  at  6,000. 

After  this  terrible  repulse  it  was  a  long  time  before 
Grant  again  renewed  active  operations,  but  during  the 
months  that  ensued  his  troops  suffered  very  heavily  from 
the  effects  of  fever,  heightened  by  the  discouragement 
they  felt  at  their  want  of  success,  and  at  the  tremendous 
losses  they  had  suffered  since  they  entered  Virginia  on 
their  forward  march  to  Richmond. 


7ITH  LEE  IN  Vinous  f A.  325 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A    PERILOUS    UNDERTAKING. 

Vincent  Wingfield  had  had  an  arduous  time  of  it 
with  his  squadron  of  cavalry.  He  had  taken  part  in  the 
desperate  charge  that  checked  the  advance  of  Sheridan's 
great  column  of  cavalry  which  approached  within  three 
miles  of  Richmond,  the  charge  that  had  cost  the  gallant 
Stuart  his  life;  and  the  death  of  his  beloved  general  had 
been  a  heavy  blow  for  him.  Jackson  and  Stuart,  two  of 
the  bravest  and  noblest  spirits  of  the  Confederate  army, 
were  gone.  Both  had  been  personally  dear  to  Vincent, 
and  he  felt  how  grievous  was  their  loss  to  the  cause  for 
which  he  was  fighting;  but  he  had  little  time  for  grief. 
The  enemy,  after  the  tremendous  battles  of  the  Wilder- 
ness, swung  their  army  round  to  Cold  Harbor,  and  Vin- 
cent's squadron  was  called  up  to  aid  Lee  in  his  struggle 
there.  Then  they  were  engaged  night  and  day  in  harass- 
ing the  enemy  as  they  marched  down  to  take  up  their  new 
base  at  Petersburg,  and  finally  received  orders  to  ride 
round  at  full  speed  to  aid  in  the  defense  of  that  place. 

They  had  arrived  in  the  middle  of  the  second  day's 
fighting,  and  dismounting  his  men  Vincent  had  aided  the 
hard-pressed  Confederates  in  holding  their  lines  till  Long« 
street's  division  arrived  to  their  assistance.  A  short 
time  before  the  terrible  disaster  that  befell  the  Federals 
in  the  mine  they  exploded  under  the  Confederate  works, 
he  was  with  General  Wade  Hampton,  who  had  succeeded 
General  Stuart  in  the  command  of  the  cavalry,  when 
General  Lee  rode  up. 


§26  mrsr  ziSE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"They  are  erecting  siege  works  in  earnest,"  General 
Lee  said.  "I  do  not  think  that  we  shall  have  any  more 
attacks  for  the  present.  I  wish  I  knew  exactly  where 
they  are  intending  to  place  their  heavy  batteries.  If  I 
did  we  should  know  where  to  strengthen  our  defenses, 
and  plant  our  counter  batteries.  It  is  very  important  to 
find  tins  out;  but  now  that  their  whole  army  has  settled 
down  in  front  of  us,  and  Sheridan's  cavalry  are  scouring 
the  woods,  we  shall  get  no  news,  for  the  farmers  will  no 
longer  be  able  to  get  through  to  tell  us  what  is  going  on." 

"I  will  try  and  ride  round,  if  you  like,  general/'  Vin- 
cent said.  "By  making  a  long  detour  one  could  get  into 
the  rear  of  their  lines  and  pass  as  a  farmer  going  into 
camp  to  sell  Ms  goods." 

"It  would  be  a  very  dangerous  service,  sir,"  General 
Lee  said.  "You  know  what  the  consequence  would  be 
if  you  were  caught?" 

"I  know  the  consequence,"  Vincent  said;  "but  I  do 
not  think,  sir,  that  the  risk  is  greater  than  one  runs 
every  time  one  goes  into  battle." 

"Perhaps  not,"  General  Lee  replied;  "but  in  one  case 
one  dies  fighting  for  one's  country  by  an  honorable 
death,  in  the  other — •"  and  he  stopped. 

"In  the  other  one  is  shot  in  cold  blood,"  Vincent  said 
quietly.  "One  dies  for  one's  country  in  either  case,  sir; 
and  it  does  not  much  matter,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  whether 
one  is  killed  in  battle  or  shot  in  cold  blood.  As  long  as 
one  is  doing  one's  duty,  one  death  is  surely  as  honorable 
as  the  other." 

"That  is  true  enough,"  General  Lee  said,  "although 
it  is  not  the  way  men  generally  view  the  matter.  Still, 
sir,  if  you  volunteer  for  the  work,  I  do  not  feel  justified 
in  refusing  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  information  that 
maybe  of  vital  consequence  tons.    When  will  you  start?" 

"In  half  an  hour,  sir.     I  shall  ride  back  to  Richmond, 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  327 

obtain  a  disguise  there,  and  then  go  round  by  train  to 
Burksville  Junction  and  then  ride  again  until  I  get  round 
behind  their  lines.  Will  you  give  me  an  order  for  my 
horse  and  myself  to  be  taken?" 

"Very  well,  sir,"  General  Lee  said.  "So  be  it.  May 
God  be  with  you  on  your  way  and  bring  you  safely  back." 

Vincent  rode  of!  to  his  quarters. 

"Dan,"  he  said,  "I  am  going  away  on  special  duty  for 
at  least  three  days.  I  have  got  a  couple  of  letters  to 
write,  and  shall  be  ready  to  start  in  half  an  hour.  Give 
the  horse  a  good  feed  and  have  him  at  the  door  again  by 
that  time.'" 

"Am  I  to  go  with  you,  sah?" 

"No,  Dan;  I  must  go  by  myself  this  time." 

Dan  felt  anxious  as  he  went  out,  for  it  was  seldom  that 
his  master  ever  went  away  without  telling  him  where  he 
was  going,  and  he  felt  sure  that  the  service  was  one  of 
unusual  danger;  nor  v/as  his  anxiety  lessened  when  at 
the  appointed  time  Vincent  came  out  and  handed  him 
two  letters. 

"You  are  to  keep  these  letters,  Dan,  until  I  return,  or 
till  you  hear  that  something  has  happened  to  me.  If  you 
hear  that,  you  are  to  take  one  of  these  letters  to  my 
mother,  and  take  the  other  yourself  to  Miss  Kingston. 
Tell  her  before  you  give  it  her  what  has  happened  as 
gently  as  you  can.  As  for  yourself,  Dan,  you  had  your 
letters  of  freedom  long  ago,  and  I  have  left  you  five  hun- 
dred dollars;  so  that  you  can  get  a  cabin  and  patch  of 
your  own,  and  settle  down  when  these  troubles  are  over." 

"Let  me  go  with  you,  master,"  Dan  said,  with  the 
tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks.  "I  would  rather  be 
killed  with  you  a  hundred  times  than  get  on  without  you," 

"1  would  take  you  if  I  could,  Dan;  but  this  is  a  serv- 
ice that  I  must  do  alone.  Good-by,  my  boy;  let  us  hope 
that  in  three  or  four  days  at  the  outside  I  shall  be  back 
here  again  safe  and  sound." 


328  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

He  wrung  Dan's  hand,  and  then  started  at  a  canter 
and  kept  on  at  that  pace  until  he  reached  Richmond.  A 
train  with  stores  was  starting  for  the  south  in  a  few  min- 
utes; General  Lee's  order  enabled  Vincent  to  have  a 
horse-box  attached  at  once,  and  he  was  soon  speeding  on 
his  way.  He  alighted  at  Burksville  Junction,  and  there 
purchased  some  rough  clothes  for  himself  and  some 
country-fashioned  saddlery  for  his  horse.  Then,  after 
changing  his  clothes  at  an  inn  and  putting  the  fresh  sad- 
dlery on  his  horse,  he  started. 

It  was  getting  late  in  the  afternoon,  but  ^d  rode  e^.  by 
unfrequented  roads,  stopping  occasionally  to  inquiie  if 
any  of  the  Federal  cavalry  had  been  seen  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  at  last  stopped  for  the  night  at  a  little  vil- 
lage inn.  As  soon  as  it  was  daybreak  he  resumed  his 
journey.  He  had  purchased  at  Burksville  some  colored 
calico  and  articles  of  female  clothing,  and  fastened  the 
parcel  to  the  back  of  his  saddle.  As  he  rode  forward  now 
he  heard  constant  tales  of  the  passing  of  parties  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  but  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  well 
round  to  the  rear  of  the  Federal  lines  before  he  encoun- 
tered any  of  them.    Then  he  came  suddenly  upon  a  troop. 

"Where  are  you  going  to,  and  where  have  you  come 
from?" 

"Our  farm  is  a  mile  away  from  Union  Grove,"  he  said, 
"and  I  have  been  over  to  Sussex  Courthouse  to  buy  some 
things  for  my  mother." 

"Let  me  see  what  you  have  got  there,"  the  officer  said. 
"You  are  rebels  to  a  man  here,  and  there's  no  Ousting 
any  of  you." 

Vincent  unfastened  the  parcel  and  opened  it  The 
officer  laughed. 

"Well,  we  won't  confiscate  them  as  contraband  of  war." 

So  saying  he  set  spurs  to  his  horse  and  galloped  on  with 
his  troop.     Vincent  rode  on  to  Uuion  Grove,  and  then 


WITH  LEE  ffl  VIRGINIA.  329 

taking  a  road  at  random  kept  on  till  he  reached  a  small 
farmhouse.  He  knocked  at  the  door,  and  a  woman  came 
out. 

"Mother,"  he  said,  "can  you  put  me  up  for  a  couple 
of  days?  I  am  a  stranger  here,  and  all  the  villages  are 
full  of  soldiers." 

The  woman  looked  at  him  doubtfully. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  she  asked  at  last.  "This 
ain't  a  time  for  strangers;  besides  a  young  fellow  like 
you  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  show  yourself  when  you 
ought  to  be  over  there  with  Lee.  My  boys  are  both  there 
and  my  husband.  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself, 
a  strong-looking  young  fellow  like  you,  to  be  riding  about 
instead  of  fighting  the  Yankees.  Go  along!  you  will  get 
no  shelter  here.  I  would  scorn  to  have  such  as  you  in- 
side my  doors/' 

"Perhaps  I  have  been  fighting  there,"  Vincent  said 
significantly.  "But  one  can't  be  always  fighting,  and 
there  are  other  things  to  do  sometimes.  For  instance,  to 
find  out  what  the  Yankees  are  doing  and  what  are  their 
plans." 

"Is  that  so?"  the  woman  asked  doubtfully. 

"That  is  so,"  he  answered  earnestly.  "I  am  an  officer 
in  "Wade  Hampton's  cavalry,  and,  now  Sheridan's  troopers 
have  cut  off  all  communication,  I  have  come  out  to  find 
for  General  Lee  where  the  Yankees  are  building  their 
batteries  before  Petersburg." 

"In  that  case  you  are  welcome,"  the  woman  said. 
"Come  straight  in.  I  will  lead  your  horse  out  and  fasten 
him  up  in  the  bush,  and  give  him  a  feed  there.  It  will 
never  do  to  put  him  in  the  stable;  the  Yankees  come  in 
and  out  and  they'd  take  him  off  sharp  enough  if  their 
eyes  fell  on  him.  I  think  you  will  be  safe  enough  even 
if  they  do  come.  They  will  take  you  for  a  son  of  mine, 
and  if  they  ask  any  questions  I  will  answer  them  sharp 
enough  " 


330  WITH  LEN  W  VIRGINIA. 

"I  wonder  they  have  left  you  a  feed  of  corn,"  Vincent 
said,  when  the  woman  returned  after  taking  away  hi3 
horse. 

"It's  no  thanks  to  them/' she  answered;  "they  have 
cleared  out  everything  that  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on.  But  I  have  been  expecting  it  for  months,  and,  as  I 
have  had  nothing  to  do  since  my  man  and  boys  went 
away,  I  have  been  digging  a  great  pit  in  the  wood  over 
there,  and  have  buried  most  all  my  corn,  and  have  salted 
my  pigs  down  and  buried  them  in  barrels;  so  they  didn't 
find  much.  They  took  the  old  horse  and  two  cows;  but 
I  hope  the  old  horse  will  fall  down  the  first  time  they 
uses  him,  and  the  cow  meat  will  choke  them  as  eats  it. 
Now,  is  there  anything  as  I  can  do  to  help  you?" 

"I  want  a  basket  with  some  eggs  and  chickens  or  vege- 
tables to  take  into  their  camp  to  sell,  but  I  am  afraid  I 
have  not  much  chance  of  getting  them." 

"I  can  help  you  there  too,"  the  woman  said.  "I 
turned  all  my  chickens  into  the  wood  the  day  I  heard  the 
Yankees  had  landed.  They  have  got  rather  wild  like; 
but  I  go  out  and  give  them  some  corn  every  evening.  I 
expect  if  we  look  about  we  shall  find  some  nests;  indeed 
I  know  there  are  one  or  two  of  them  sitting.  So  if  you 
will  come  out  with  me  we  can  soon  knock  down  five  or 
six  of  the  creatures,  and  maybe  get  a  score  or  two  of  eggs. 
As  for  vegetables,  a  horde  of  locusts  couldn't  have 
stripped  the  country  cleaner  than  they  have  done." 

They  went  out  into  the  wood.  Six  hens  were  soon 
killed,  and  hunting  about  they  discovered  several  nests 
and  gathered  about  three  dozen  eggs.  Vincent  aided  in 
plucking  the  chickens  and  they  then  returned  to  the 
house. 

"You  had  best  take  a  bite  before  you  go,"  she  said. 
"It's  noon  now,  and  you  said  you  started  at  daybreak. 
Always  get  a  meal  when  you  can,  say  I." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  331 

She  produced  a  loaf  and  some  bacon  from  a  little  cup- 
board hidden  by  her  bed,  and  Vincent,  who,  now  he 
thought  of  it,  was  feeling  hungry,  made  a  hearty  meal. 

"I  will  pay  you  for  these  chickens  and  eggs  at  once," 
he  said.  "There  is  no  saying  whether  I  shall  come  back 
again." 

"I  will  not  say  no  to  your  paying  for  the  chickens  and 
eggs,"  she  said,  "because  money  is  scarce  enough,  and  I 
may  have  long  to  wait  before  my  man  and  the  boys  come 
back;  but  as  to  lodging  and  food  I  would  not  touch  a 
cent.  You  are  welcome  to  all  I  have  when  it's  for  the 
good  cause." 

Vincent  started  with  the  basket  on  his  arm,  and  after 
walking  three  miles  came  upon  the  Federal  camps. 

Some  of  the  regiments  were  already  under  canvas, 
others  were  still  bivouacked  in  the  open  air,  as  the  store- 
ships  carrying  the  heavy  baggage  had  not  yet  arrived. 
The  generals  and  their  staffs  had  taken  up  their  quarters 
in  the  villages.  Vincent  had  received  accurate  instruc- 
tions from  his  hostess  as  to  the  position  of  the  various 
villages,  and  avoided  them  carefully,  for  he  did  not  want 
to  sell  out  his  stock  immediately.  He  had  indeed  stowed 
two  of  the  fowls  away  in  his  pocket  so  that  in  case  any 
one  insisted  upon  buying  up  all  his  stock  he  could  place 
these  in  his  basket  and  still  push  on. 

He  avoided  the  camps  as  much  as  he  could.  He  could 
see  the  smoke  rising  in  front  of  him,  and  the  roar  of  guns 
was  now  close  at  hand.  He  saw  on  his  right  an  elevated 
piece  of  ground,  from  which  a  good  view  could  be  ob- 
tained of  the  fortifications  upon  which  the  Federals  were 
working,  A  camp  had  been  pitched  there,  and  a  large 
tent  near  the  summit  showed  that  some  officer  of  supe- 
rior rank  had  his  quarters  there.  He  made  a  detour  so  a3 
to  come  up  at  the  back  of  the  hill  and  when  he  reached 
the  top  he  stood  looking  down  upon  the  line  of  works. 


332  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

They  were  nearly  half  a  mile  distant.  The  intervening 
ground  had  already  been  stripped  of  its  hedges,  and  the 
trees  cut  down  to  form  gabions,  fascines,  and  platforms 
for  the  cannon.  Thousands  of  men  were  at  work;  but  in 
some  parts  they  were  clustered  much  more  thickly  than 
in  others,  and  Vincent  had  no  difficulty  in  determining 
where  the  principal  batteries  were  in  course  of  construc- 
tion along  this  portion  of  the  position.  He  was  still  gaz- 
ing intently  when  two  horsemen  rode  up  from  behind. 

"Halloo  you,  sir!  What  are  you  looking  at?"  one  of 
them  asked  sharply.     "What  are  you  spying  about  here?" 

Vincent  turned  slowly  round  with  a  silly  smile  on  his 
lips. 

"I  am  spying  all  them  chaps  at  work/'  he  said.  "It 
reminds  me  for  all  the  world  of  an  anthill.  Never  did 
see  so  many  chaps  before.  What  be  they  a-doing?  Dig- 
ging a  big  drain  or  making  a  roadway,  I  guess." 

"Who  are  you,  sir?"  the  officer  asked  angrily. 

"Seth  Jones  I  be,  and  mother's  sent  me  to  sell  some 
fowls  and  eggs.  Do  you  want  to  buy  any?  Fine  birds 
they  be." 

"Why,  Sheridan,"  laughed  the  other  officer,  "this  is  a 
feather  out  of  your  cap.  I  thought  your  fellows  had 
cleared  out  every  hen-roost  within  twenty  miles  of 
Petersburg  already." 

"I  fancy  they  have  emptied  most  of  them,"  the  general 
said  grimly.     "Where  do  you  come  from,  lad?" 

"I  comes  from  over  there,"  Vincent  said,  jerking  his 
thumb  back.  "I  lives  there  with  mother.  Father  and 
the  other  boys  they  have  gone  fighting  Yanks;  but  they 
wouldn't  take  me  with  them  'cause  I  ain't  sharp  in  my 
wits,  though  I  tells  them  I  could  shoot  a  Yank  as  well  as 
they  could  if  they  showed  me." 

"And  who  do  you  suppose  all  those  men  are?"  General 
Sheridan  asked,  pointing  toward  the  trenches. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  333 

"I  durmo,"  Vincent  replied.  "I  guess  they  be  niggers. 
There  be  too  many  of  them  for  whites;  besides  whites 
ain't  such  fools  to  work  like  that.  Doesn't  ye  want  any 
fowl?"  and  he  drew  back  the  cloth  and  showed  the  con- 
tents of  the  basket. 

"Take  them  as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  general,"  the 
other  officer  laughed.  "It  will  be  downright  novelty  to 
you  to  buy  chickens." 

"What  do  you  want  for  them,  boy?" 

"Mother  said  as  I  wasn't  to  take  less  nor  a  dollar 
apiece." 

"Greenbacks,  I  suppose?"  the  officer  asked. 

"I  suppose  so.  She  didn't  say  nothing  about  it;  but  I 
has  not  seen  aught  but  greenbacks  for  a  long  time  since." 

"Come  along,  then,"  the  officer  said;  "we  will  take 
them." 

They  rode  up  to  the  large  tents,  and  the  officer  alighted, 
and  gave  their  horses  to  two  of  the  soldiers. 

"Give  your  basket  to  this  soldier." 

"I  want  the  basket  back  again.  Mother  would  whop 
me  if  I  came  back  without  the  basket  again." 

"All  right,"  the  officer  said;  "you  shall  have  it  back 
in  a  mir.ute." 

Vincent  stood  looking  anxiously  after  the  orderly. 

"Do  you  think  that  boy  is  as  foolish  as  he  seems?" 
General  Sheridan  asked  his  companion.  "He  admits 
that  he  comes  of  a  rebel  family." 

"I  don't  think  he  would  have  admitted  that  if  he 
hadn't  been  a  fool.  I  fancy  he  is  a  half-witted  chap. 
They  never  would  have  left  a  fellow  of  his  age  behind." 

"No,  I  think  it's  safe,"  Sheridan  said;  "but  one  can't 
be  too  particular  just  at  present.  See,  the  trees  in  front 
hide  our  work  altogether  from  the  rebels,  and  it  would 
be  a  serious  thing  if  they  were  to  find  out  what  we  are 
doing." 


334  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"That  boy  could  not  tell  them  much  even  if  he  got 
there/'  the  other  said;  "and  from  this  distance  it  would 
need  a  sharp  eye  and  some  military  knowledge  to  make 
out  anything  of  what  is  going  on.  Where  does  your 
mother  live,  boy?" 

"I  ain't  going  to  tell  you/'  Vincent  said  doggedly. 
"Mother  said  I  wasn't  to  tell  no  one  where  I  lived,  else 
the  Yankee  thieves  would  be  a-coming  down  and  stealing 
the  rest  of  our  chickens." 

The  officers  laughed. 

'"Well,  go  along,  boy;  and  I  should  advise  you  not  to 
say  anything  about  Yankee  thieves  another  time,  for 
likely  enough  you  will  get  a  broken  head  for  your  pains." 

Vincent  went  off  grumbling,  and  with  a  slow  and 
stumbling  step  made  his  way  over  the  brow  of  the  hill 
and  down  through  the  camps  behind.  Here  he  sold  his 
last  two  fowls  and  his  eggs,  and  then  walked  briskly  on 
until  he  reached  the  cottage  from  which  he  had  started. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you  back,"  the  woman  said  as  he 
entered.     "How  have  you  got  on?" 

"Capitally,"  he  said.  "I  pretended  to  be  half  an  idiot, 
and  so  got  safely  out,  though- 1  fell  into  Sheridan's  hands. 
He  suspected  me  at  first,  but  at  last  he  thought  I  was 
what  I  looked — a  fool.  He  wanted  to  know  where  you 
lived,  but  I  wouldn't  tell  him.  I  told  him  you  told  me 
not  to  tell  any  one,  'cause  if  I  did  the  Yankee  thieves 
would  be  clearing  out  the  rest  of  the  chickens." 

"Did  you  tell  him  that,  now?"  the  woman  said  in  de- 
light; "he  must  have  thought  you  was  a  fool.  Well,  it's 
a  good  thing  the  Yanks  should  hear  the  truth  sometimes. 
Well,  have  you  done  now?" 

"No,  I  have  only  seen  one  side  of  their  works  yet;  I 
must  try  round  the  other  flank  to-morrow.  I  wish  I 
could  get  something  to  sell  that  wouldn't  get  bought  up 
by  the  first  people  I  came  to,  something  I  could  peddle 
among  the  sol  Hers." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA-  335 

"What  sort  of  thing?" 

''Something  in  the  way  of  drinks,  I  should  say/'  Vin- 
cent said.  "I  saw  a  woman  going  among  the  camps.  She 
had  two  tin  cans  and  a  little  mug.  I  think  she  had  lem- 
onade or  something  of  that  sort." 

"It  wouldn't  be  lemonade/'  the  woman  said.  "I 
haven't  seen  a  lemon  for  the  last  two  years;  but  they  do 
get  some  oranges  from  Florida.  Maybe  it  was  that,  or 
perhaps  it  was  spirits  and  water." 

"Perhaps  it  was,"  Vincent  agreed;  "though  I  don't 
think  they  would  let  any  one  sell  spirits  in  the  camp." 

"I  can't  get  you  any  lemons  or  oranges  neither,"  the 
woman  said;  "but  I  might  make  you  a  drink  out  of 
molasses  and  herbs,  with  some  spirits  in  it.  I  have  got  a 
keg  of  old  rye  buried  away  ever  since  my  man  went  off, 
six  months  ago;  I  am  out  of  molasses,  but  I  dare  say  I 
can  borrow  some  from  a  neighbor,  and  as  for  herbs  they 
are  about  the  only  thing  the  Yankees  haven't  stole.  I 
think  I  could  fix  you  up  something  that  would  do.  As 
long  as  it  has  got  spirits  in  it,  it  don't  much  matter  what 
you  put  in  besides,  only  it  wouldn't  do  to  take  spirits  up 
alone.  You  can  call  it  plantation  drink,  and  I  don't  sup- 
pose any  one  will  ask  too  closely  what  it's  made  of." 

"Thank  you,  that  will  do  caoitally." 

The  next  morning  Vincent  again  set  out,  turning  his 
steps  this  time  toward  the  right  flank  of  the  Federal  posi- 
tion. He  had  in  the  course  of  the  evening  made  a  sketch 
of  the  ground  he  had  seen,  marking  in  all  the  principal 
batteries,  with  notes  as  to  the  number  of  guns  for  which 
they  seemed  to  be  intended. 

"Look  here,"  he  said  to  the  woman  before  leaving. 
"I  may  not  be  as  lucky  to-day  as  I  was  yesterday.  If  I 
do  not  come  back  to-night,  can  you  find  any  one  you  can 
trust  to  take  this  piece  of  paper  round  to  Richmond? 
Of   course   he  would  have  to  make  his  way  first  up  to 


336  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Burksville  Junction,  and  then  take  train  to  Kichmond. 
When  he  gets  there  he  must  go  down  to  Petersburg,  and 
ask  for  General  Lee.  I  have  written  a  line  to  go  with  it, 
saying  what  I  have  done  this  for,  and  asking  the  general 
to  give  the  bearer  a  hundred  dollars." 

"I  will  take  it  myself,"  the  woman  said;  "not  for  the 
sake  of  the  hundred  dollars,  though  I  ain't  saying  as  it 
wouldn't  please  the  old  man  when  he  comes  back  to  find 
I  had  a  hundred  dollars  stored  away;  but  for  the  cause. 
My  men  are  all  doing  their  duty,  and  I  will  do  mine.  So 
trust  me,  and  if  you  don't  come  back  by  daybreak  to- 
morrow morning,  I  will  start  right  away  with  these  let- 
ters. I  will  go  out  at  once  and  hide  them  somewhere  in 
case  the  Yanks  should  come  and  make  a  search.  If  you 
are  caught  they  might,  like  enough,  trace  you  here,  and 
then  they  would  search  the  place  all  over  and  maybe  set 
it  alight.  If  you  ain't  here  by  nightfall  I  shall  sleep  out 
in  the  wood,  so  if  they  come  they  won't  find  me  here. 
If  anything  detains  you,  and  you  ain't  back  till  after 
dark,  you  will  find  me  somewhere  near  the  tree  where 
your  horse  is  tied  up." 

Provided  with  a  large  can. full  of  a  liquor  that  the 
woman  compounded,  and  which  Vincent,  on  tasting, 
found  to  be  by  no  means  bad,  he  started  from  the  cot- 
tage. Again  he  made  his  way  safely  through  the  camps, 
and  without  hindrance  lounged  up  to  a  spot  where  a  large 
number  of  men  belonging  to  one  of  the  negro  regiments 
were  at  work. 

"Plantation  liquor?"  he  said,  again  assuming  a  stupid 
air,  to  a  black  sergeant  who  was  with  them.  "First-rate 
stuff,  and  only  fifteen  cents  a  glass." 

"What  plantation  liquor  like?"  the  negro  asked.  "Me 
not  know  him." 

"First-rate  stuff,"  Vincent  repeated.  "Mother  makes 
it  of  spirits  and  molasses  and  all  sorts.  Fifteen  cents  a 
glass,". 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  337 

"Well,  I  will  take  a  glass,"  the  sergeant  said.  "Mighty 
hot  work  dis  in  de  sun;  but  don't  you  say  nuffin  about 
the  spirit.  Ef  dey  ask  you,  just  you  say  molasses  and  all 
sorts,  dat's  quite  enough.  De  white  officer  won't  let 
spirits  be  sold  in  de  camp. 

"Dat  bery  good  stuff,"  he  said,  smacking  his  lips  as 
he  handed  back  the  little  tin  measure.  "You  sell  him 
all  in  no  time."  Several  of  the  negroes  now  came  round, 
and  Vincent  disposed  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  his 
plantation  liquor.  Then  he  turned  to  go  away,  for  he 
did  not  want  to  empty  his  can  at  one  place.  He  had  not 
gone  many  paces  when  a  party  of  three  or  four  officers 
came  along. 

"Halloo,  you  sir,  what  the  deuce  are  you  doing  here?" 
one  asked  angrily.  "Don't  you  know  nobody  is  allowed 
to  pass  through  the  lines?" 

"I  didn't  see  no  lines.  What  sort  of  lines  are  they? 
No  one  told  me  nothing  about  lines.  My  mother  sent 
me  out  to  sell  plantation  liquor,  fifteen  cents  a  glass." 

"What's  it  like?"  one  of  the  officers  said,  laughing. 
"Spirits,  I  will  bet  a  dollar,  in  some  shape  or  other.  Pour 
me  out  a  glass.     I  will  try  it,  anyhow." 

Vincent  filled  the  little  tin  mug,  and  handed  it  to  the 
officer.  As  he  lifted  his  face  to  do  so  there  was  a  sudden 
exclamation. 

"Vincent  Wingfield!"  and  another  officer  drawing  his 
sword  attacked  him  furiously,  shouting,  "A  spy!  Seize 
him!     A  Confederate  spy!" 

Vincent  recognized  with  astonishment  in  the  Federal 
officer  rushing  at  him  with  uplifted  sword  his  old  antag- 
onist, Jackson.  Almost  instinctively  he  whirled  the  can, 
which  was  still  half -full  of  liquor,  round  his  head  and 
dashed  it  full  in  the  face  of  his  antagonist,  who  was 
knocked  off  his  feet  by  the  blow.  With  a  yell  of  rage  he 
started  up  again  and  rushed  at  Vincent.     The  latter 


338  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

snatched  up  a  shovel  that  was  lying  close  by  and  stood 
his  ground.  The  officers  were  so  surprised  at  the  sud- 
denness of  the  incident  and  the  overthrow  of  their  com- 
panion; and  for  the  moment  so  amused  at  the  latter's  ap- 
pearance, covered  as  he  was  from  head  to  foot  with  the 
sticky  liquor  and  bleeding  from  a  cut  inflicted  by  the 
edge  of  the  can,  that  they  were  incapable  of  interference. 

Blinded  with  rage,  and  with  the  liquid  streaming  into 
his  eyes,  Jackson  rushed  at  Vincent.  The  latter  caught 
the  blow  aimed  at  him  on  the  edge  of  the  shovel,  and 
then  swinging  his  weapon  round  smote  his  antagonist 
with  all  his  strength,  the  edge  of  the  shovel  falling  fairly 
upon  his  head.  Without  a  cry  the  traitor  fell  dead  in  his 
tracks.  The  other  officers  now  drew  their  swords  and 
rushed  forward.  Vincent,  seeing  the  futility  of  resist- 
ance, threw  down  his  shovel.     He  was  instantly  seized. 

"Halloo  there!"  the  senior  officer  called  to  the  men, 
who  had  stopped  in  their  work  and  were  gazing  at  the  sud- 
den fray  that  had  arisen,  "a  sergeant  and  four  men." 
Four  of  the  negro  soldiers  and  a  sergeant  at  once  stepped 
forward.  "Take  this  man  and  conduct  him  to  the  vil- 
lage. Put  him  in  a  room,  and  stay  there  with  him.  Do 
you,  sergeant,  station  yourself  at  the  door,  so  that  I  shall 
know  where  to  find  you.  Put  on  your  uniforms  and  take 
your  guns."  The  men  put  on  their  coats,  which  they 
had  removed  while  at  work,  shouldered  their  muskets, 
and  took  their  places,  two  on  each  side  of  the  prisoner. 
The  officers  then  turned  to  examine  their  prostrate  com- 
rade. 

"It's  all  over  with  him,"  one  said,  stooping  down;  "the 
shovel  has  cut  his  skull  nearly  in  half.  Well,  T  fancy  he 
was  a  bad  lot.  I  don't  believe  in  Southerners  who  come 
over  to  fight  in  our  ranks;  besides  he  was  at  one  time  in 
the  rebel  army." 

"Yes,  he  was  taken  prisoner/''  another  said.     "Then 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  33? 

bis  father,  who  had  to  bolt  from  the  South,  because,  he 
said,  of  his  Northern  sympathies,  but  likely  enough  for 
something  else,  came  round,  made  interest  somehow  and 
got  his  son  released,  and  then  some  one  else  got  him  a 
commission  with  us.  He  always  said  he  had  been  obliged 
to  fight  on  the  other  side,  but  that  he  had  always  been 
heart  and  soul  for  the  North;  anyhow,  he  was  always 
blackguarding  his  old  friends.  I  always  doubted  the 
fellow.  Well,  there's  an  end  of  him;  and  anyhow  he  has 
done  useful  service  at  last  by  recognizing  this  spy.  Fine- 
looking  young  fellow  that.  He  called  him  Vincent  Wing- 
field.  I  seem  to  remember  the  name;  perhaps  I  have 
read  it  in  some  of  the  rebel  newspapers  we  got  hold  of; 
likely  enough  some  one  will  know  it.  Well,  I  suppose  we 
had  better  have  Jackson  carried  into  camp/' 

Four  more  of  the  negroes  were  called  out,  and  these 
carried  the  body  into  the  camp  of  his  regiment.  An 
officer  was  also  sent  from  the  working  party  to  report  the 
capture  of  a  spy  to  his  colonel. 

"I  will  report  it  to  the  general,"  the  latter  said;  "he 
rode  along  here  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ago,  and  may 
not  be  back  again  for  some  hours.  As  we  have  got  the 
spy  fast  it  cannot  make  any  difference." 

As  he  was  marched  back  to  the  village  Vincent  felt 
that  there  was  no  hope  for  him  whatever.  He  had  been 
denounced  as  a  spy,  and  although  the  lips  that  had  de- 
nounced him  had  been  silenced  forever,  the  mischief  had 
been  done.  He  could  give  no  satisfactory  account  oi 
himself.  He  thought  for  a  moment  of  declaring  that  a 
mistake  had  been  made,  but  he  felt  that  no  denial  would 
counterbalance  the  effect  of  Jackson's  words.  The  fury, 
too,  with  which  the  latter  had  attacked  him  would  show 
plainly  enough  that  his  assailant  was  absolutely  certain 
as  to  his  identity,  and  even  that  there  had  been  a  per- 
sonal feud  between  them.     Then  he  thought  that  if  he 


340  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

said  that  he  was  the  son  of  the  woman  in  the  hut  she 
would  bear  him  out  in  the  assertion.  But  it  was  not 
likely  that  this  would  be  accepted  as  against  Jackson's 
testimony;  besides,  inquiry  among  her  neighbors  would 
certainly  lead  to  the  discovery  that  she  was  speaking  an 
untruth,  and  might  even  involve  her  in  his  fate  as  his 
abettor.  But  most  of  all  he  decided  against  this  course 
because  it  would  involve  the  telling  of  a  lie. 

Vincent  considered  that  while  in  disguise,  and  doing 
important  service  for  his  country,  he  was  justified  in 
using  deceit;  but  merely  for  the  purpose  of  saving  his 
own  life,  and  that  perhaps  uselessly,  he  would  not  lie. 
His  fate,  of  course,  was  certain.  He  was  a  spy,  and 
would  be  shot  for  it.  Vincent  had  so  often  been,  in  the 
battlefield,  so  often  under  a  fire  from  which  it  seemed 
that  no  one  could  come  alive,  that  the  thought  that  death 
was  at  hand  had  not  for  him  the  terrors  that  possess 
those  differently  circumstanced.  He  was  going  to  die  for 
the  Confederacy  as  tens  of  thousands  of  brave  men  had 
died  before,  and  he  rejoiced  over  the  precaution  he  had 
taken  as  to  the  transmission  of  his  discoveries  on  the 
previous  day,  and  felt  sure  that  General  Lee  would  do 
full  justice  to  hib  memory,  and  announce  that  he  had  died 
in  doing  noble  service  to  the  country. 

He  sighed  as  he  thought  of  his  mother  and  sisters;  but 
Eose  had  been  married  in  the  spring,  and  Annie  was  en- 
gaged to  an  officer  in  General  Beauregard's  staff.  Then 
he  thought  of  Lucy  away  in  Georgia  and  for  the  first 
time  his  lip  quivered  and  his  cheek  paled. 

The  negro  guards,  who  had  been  enlisted  but  a  few 
weeks,  were  wholly  ignorant  of  their  duties,  and  having 
once  conveyed  their  prisoner  into  the  room,  evidently 
considered  that  all  further  necessity  for  military  strict- 
ness was  at  an  end.  They  had  been  ordered  to  stay  in 
the  room  with  the  prisoner,  but  no  instructions  had  been 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  341 

given  as  to  their  conduct  there.  They  accordingly  placed 
their  muskets  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  and  proceeded 
to  chatter  and  laugh  without  further  regarding  him. 

Under  other  circumstances  this  carelessness  would 
have  inspired  Vincent  with  the  thought  of  escape,  hut  he 
knew  that  it  was  out  of  the  question  here.  There  were 
Federal  camps  all  round  and  a  shout  from  the  negroes 
would  send  a  hundred  men  in  instant  pursuit  of  him. 
There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  wait  for  the  end, 
and  that  end  would  assuredly  come  in  the  morning. 
From  time  to  time  the  door  opened,  and  the  negro  ser- 
geant looked  in.  Apparently  his  ideas  on  the  subject  of 
discipline  were  no  stricter  than  those  of  his  men,  for  he 
made  no  remark  as  to  their  carelessness.  Presently, 
when  he  looked  in,  the  four  soldiers  were  standing  at  the 
window  watching  a  regiment  passing  by  on  its  way  to 
take  its  share  of  the  work  in  the  trenches.  Vincent,  who 
was  sitting  at  a  table,  happened  to  look  up,  and  was 
astonished  at  seeing  the  sergeant  first  put  his  finger  on 
his  lips,  then  take  off  his  cap,  put  one  hand  on  his  heart, 
and  gesticulate  with  the  other. 

Vincent  gazed  at  him  in  blank  surprise,  then  he  started 
and  almost  sprang  to  his  feet,  for  in  the  Yankee  sergeant 
he  recognized  Tony  Morris;  but  the  uplifted  hand  of  the 
negro  warned  him  of  the  necessity  of  silence.  The  negro 
nodded  several  times,  again  put  his  hand  on  his  heart, 
and  then  disappeared.  A  thrill  of  hope  stirred  every  vein 
in  Vincent's  body.  He  felt  his  cheeks  flush  and  had  dif- 
ficulty in  maintaining  his  passive  attitude.  He  was  not, 
then,  utterly  deserted;  he  had  a  friend  who  would,  he 
was  sure,  do  all  in  his  power  to  aid  him. 

It  was  extraordinary  indeed  that  it  should  be  Tony  who 
was  now  his  jailer;  and  yet,  when  he  thought  it  over,  it 
was  not  difficult  to  understand.  It  was  natural  enough 
that  he  should  have  enlisted  when  the  black  regiments 


342  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

were  raised.  He  had  doubtless  heard  his  name  shouted 
out  by  Jackson,  and  had,  as  Vincent  now  remembered, 
stepped  forward  as  a  sort  of  volunteer  when  the  officer 
called  for  a  sergeant  and  four  men. 

f  Yes,  Tony  would  doubtless  do  all  in  his  power  to  save 
him.  Whether  it  would  be  possible  that  he  could  do  so 
was  doubtful;  but  at  least  there  was  a  hope,  and  with  it 
the  feeling  of  quiet  resignation  with  which  Vincent  had 
faced  what  appeared  to  be  inevitable  at  once  disap- 
peared, and  was  succeeded  by  a  restless  longing  for 
action.  His  brain  was  busy  at  once  in  calculating  the 
chances  of  his  being  ordered  for  instant  execution  or  of 
the  sentence  being  postponed  .till  the  following  morning, 
and,  in  the  latter  case,  with  the  question  of  what  guard 
would  be  probably  placed  over  him,  and  how  Tony  would 
get  about  the  attempt  to  aid  him  to  escape. 

Had  the  general  been  in  camp  when  he  was  brought  in 
he  would  probably  have  been  shot  at  sunset,  but  if  he  did 
Dot  return  until  the  afternoon  he  would  most  likely 
order  the  sentence  to  be  carried  out  at  daybreak.  In 
any  case,  as  he  was  an  officer,  some  time  might  be 
granted  to  him  to  prepare  for  death.  Then  there  was 
the  question  whether  he  would  be  handed  over  to  a  white 
regiment  for  safe-keeping  or  left  in  the  hands  of  the  black 
regiment  that  had  captured  him.  No  doubt  after  the 
sentence  was  passed  the  white  officers  of  that  regiment 
would  see  that  a  much  stricter  watch  than  that  now  put 
over  him  was  set. 

It  was  not  probable  that  he  would  still  be  in  charge  of 
Tony,  for  as  the  latter  would  be  on  duty  all  day  he  would 
doubtless  be  relieved.  In  that  case  how  would  he  man- 
age to  approach  him,  and  what  means  would  he  use  to 
direct  the  attention  of  the  sentries  in  another  direction? 
He  thought  over  the  plans  that  he  himself  would  adopt 
were  he  in  Tony's  place.     The  first  thing  would  be,  of 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  343 

course,  to  make  the  sentries  drunk  if  possible.  This 
should  not  be  a  difficult  task  with  men  whose  notions  of 
discipline  were  so  lax  as  those  of  the  negroes;  but  it 
would  be  no  easy  matter  for  Tony  to  obtain  spirits,  for 
these  were  strictly  prohibited  in  the  Federal  camp.  Per- 
haps he  might  help  Tony  in  this  way.  He  fortunately 
had  a  small  notebook  with  a  pencil  in  his  pocket,  and  as 
his  guards  were  still  at  the  window  he  wrote  as  follows: 

"I  am  captured  by  the  Yankees.  So  far  as  I  can  see, 
my  only  chance  of  escape  is  to  make  the  sentries  drunk. 
The  bearer  is  absolutely  to  be  trusted.  Give  him  his 
canteen  full  of  spirits,  and  tell  him  what  I  have  written 
here." 

He  tore  this  page  out,  folded  it  up,  and  directed  it  to 
Mrs.  G-rossmith,  Worley  Farm,  near  Union.  Presently 
Tony  looked  in  again  and  Vincent  held  up  the  note.  The 
sergeant  stepped  quickly  forward  and  took  it,  and  then 
said  sharply  to  the  men: 

"Now  den,  dis  not  keeping  guard.  Suppose  door  open 
and  dis  fellow  run  away.  What  dey  say  to  you?  Two  of 
you  keep  your  eye  on  dis  man.  Suppose  Captain  Pearce 
come  in  and  find  you  all  staring  out  window.  He  kick 
up  nice  bobbery." 

Thus  admonished  as  to  their  duty,  two  of  the  negroes 
took  up  their  muskets  and  stood  with  their  backs  to  the 
door,  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  prisoner  with  such 
earnestness  that  Vincent  could  not  suppress  a  smile.  The 
negroes  grinned  responsively. 

"Dis  bad  affair,  young  sah,"one  said;  "bery  bad  affair. 
Ob  course  we  soldiers  ob  de  Union,  and  got  to  fight  if 
dey  tell  us;  but  no  like  dis  job  ob  keeping  guard  like  dis. " 

"It  can't  be  helped,"  Vincent  said;  "and  of  course  you 
must  do  your  duty.  I  am  not  going  to  jump  up  the 
chimney  or  fly  through  the  window,  and  as  there  are  four 


344  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

of  you,  to  say  nothing  of  the  sergeant  outside,  you 
needn't  be  afraid  of  my  trying  to  escape." 

"No,  sah,  dat  not  possible  nohow;  we  know  dat  bery 
well.  Dat's  why  we  no  trouble  to  look  after  you.  But 
a<s  de  sargent  say  watch,  ob  course  we  must  watch.  We 
bery  pleased  to  see  you  kill  dat  white  officer.  Dat  officer 
bery  hard  man  and  all  de  men  hate  him,  and  when  you 
knock  him  down  we  should  like  to  hab  given  cheer.  "We  all 
sorry  for  you;  still  you  see,  sah,  we  must  keep  watch.  If 
you  were  to  get  away,  dar  no  saying  what  dey  do  to  us." 

"That's  all  right,"  Vincent  said;  "I  don't  blame  you 
at  all.  As  you  say,  that  was  a  very  bad  fellow.  I  had 
quarreled  with  him  before,  because  he  treated  his  slaves 
so  badly." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  345 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

FREE. 

It  was  not  until  late  in  the  afternoon  that  a  white 
officer  entered,  and  ordered  the  soldiers  to  conduct  the 
prisoner  to  the  general's  tent. 

"What  is  your  name,  sir,  and  who  are  you?"  the  gen- 
eral asked  as  he  was  brought  in.  "I  hear  that  you  were 
denounced  by  Lieutenant  Jackson  as  being  a  spy,  and 
that  he  addressed  you  as  Vincent  Wingfield.  What  have 
you  got  to  say  to  the  charge?" 

"My  name  is  Vincent  Wingfield,  sir,"  Vincent  replied 
quietly.  "I  am  upon  the  staff  of  General  Wade  Hamp- 
ton, and  in  pursuance  of  my  duty  I  came  here  to  learn 
what  I  could  of  your  movements  and  intentions." 

The  general  was  silent  for  a  moment. 

"Then,  sir,  as  you  are  an  officer,  you  must  be  well 
aware  of  the  consequence  of  being  discovered  in  disguise 
here.  I  regret  that  there  is  no  course  open  to  me  but  to 
order  you  to  be  shot  as  a  spy  to-morrow  morning." 

One  of  the  officers  who  was  standing  by  the  general 
here  whispered  to  him. 

"Ah,  yes,  I  remember,"  he  said.  "Are  you  the  same 
officer,  sir,  who  escaped  from  Elmira?" 

"I  am,  sir,"  Vincent  replied;  "and  at  the  same  time 
aided  in  the  escape  of  the  man  who  denounced  me  to- 
day, and  who  then  did  his  best  to  have  me  arrested  by 
sending  an  anonymous  letter  stating  the  disguise  in  which 
I  was  making  my  way  through  the  country.     I  was  not 


346  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

surprised  to  find  that  he  had  carried  his  treachery  fur- 
ther, and  was  now  fighting  against  the  men  with  whom 
he  had  formerly  served/' 

"He  deserved  the  fate  that  has  befallen  him,"  the  gen- 
eral said.  "Still  this  does  not  alter  your  position.  I  re- 
gret that  I  must  order  my  sentence  to  be  carried  out." 

"I  do  not  blame  you,  sir.  I  knew  the  risks  I  ran  when 
I  accepted  the  mission.  My  only  regret  is  that  I  failed 
in  supplying  my  general  with  the  information  they 
required." 

The  general  then  turned  to  the  officer  who  had 
brought  Vincent  up. 

"This  officer  will  remain  in  charge  of  your  men  for  to- 
night, Captain  Pearce.  You  will  see  that  the  sentence 
is  carried  into  effect  at  daybreak.  I  need  not  tell  you 
that  a  vigilant  guard  must  be  placed  over  him." 

Vincent  was  again  marched  back  to  the  village,  but  the 
officer  halted  the  party  when  he  arrived  there. 

"Stop  here  a  few  minutes,  sergeant,"  he  said.  "That 
room  is  required  for  an  officers  quarters.  I  will  look 
round  and  find  another  place."' 

In  a  few  minutes  he  returned,  and  Vincent  was  con- 
ducted to  a  shed  standing  in  the  garden  of  one  of  the 
houses. 

"Place  one  man  on  guard  at  the  door  and  another  be- 
hind," he  said  to  the  sergeant.  "Let  the  other  two  re- 
lieve them,  and  change  the  watch  once  an  hour." 

The  sergeant  saluted. 

"De  men  hab  been  on  duty  since  daylight,  sah,  and 
none  of  us  hab  had  anyting  to  eat." 

"Oh,  I  forgot  that,"  the  officer  replied.  "Very  well, 
I  will  send  another  party  to  relieve  you  at  once." 

In  ten  minutes  another  sergeant  and  four  men  arrived 
at  the  spot,  and  Tony  and  his  companions  returned  to 
the  camp. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  347 

As  soon  as  Tony  had  devoured  a  piece  of  bread  he  left 
the  camp,  walked  with  careless  gait  through  the  camps 
behind,  and  went  on  until  he  reached  a  village  in  which 
were  comparatively  few  soldiers.  He  went  up  to  a 
woman  who  was  standing  at  a  door. 

"Missus,"  he  said,  "I  hab  got  a  letter  to  take,  and  I 
ain't  bery  sure  as  to  de  name.  Will  you  kindly  tell  me 
what  is  de  address  writ  on  dis  paper?" 

The  woman  looked  at  it. 

"Mrs.  Grossmith,  Worley  Farm,  near  Union.  That's 
about  two  miles  along  the  road.  If  you  go  on  any  one 
will  tell  you  which  is  Mrs.  Grrossmith's." 

Tony  hurried  on,  for  he  wanted  to  get  back  to  the 
camp  before  it  was  dark.  He  had  no  difficulty  in  finding 
Worley  Farm. 

"Now,  then,  what  do  you  want?"  its  owner  said 
sharply,  as  she  opened  the  door  in  reply  to  his  knock. 
"There's  nothing  for  you  here.  You  can  look  round  if 
you  like.  It's  been  all  stripped  clean  days  ago,  so  I  tell 
you." 

"Me  no  want  anyting,  ma'am.  Me  hab  a  letter  for 
you." 

The  woman  in  surprise  took  the  note  and  opened  it. 
She  read  it  through  and  looked  earnestly  at  Tony. 

"He  says  you  are  to  be  trusted,"  she  said.  "Is  that 
so?" 

"I  would  gib  my  life  for  him  twenty  times  over,"  Tony 
replied.  "He  got  me  away  from  a  brutal  master  and 
bought  my  wife  out  ob  slavery  for  me.  What  does  he 
say,  ma'am?  For  de  Lord  sake  tell  me.  Perhaps  he  tell 
me  how  to  get  him  clar." 

The  woman  read  out  the  contents  of  the  note. 

"Pat's  it,  missus,  sure  enough;  dat's  the  way,"  he  ex- 
claimed in  delight.  "Me  tink  and  tink  all  day,  and  no 
manage  to  tink  of  anyting  except  to  shoot  de  sentry  and 


348  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

fight  wid  de  oders  and  get  him  out;  but  den  all  de  oder 
sojers  come  running  down,  and  no  chance  to  escape.  If 
me  can  get  de  spirits  dat's  easy  enough.  Me  make  dem 
all  druuk  as  hogs." 

"I  can  give  you  that,"  the  woman  said.  "Is  there 
anything  else  you  will  want?  What  are  you  going  to  do 
with  him  if  you  get  him  free?  They  will  hunt  you  down 
like  vermin." 

"I  tonght  we  might  get  down  to  de  river  and  get  ober 
somehow.  Dere  will  be  no  getting  troo  der  cavalry.  Dey 
will  hah  dem  on  every  road," 

"Well,  you  want  some  clothes,  anyhow;  you  can't  go 
about  in  these  soldier  clothes.  The  first  Yank  you  came 
across  would  shoot  you  for  a  deserter,  and  the  first  of 
our  men  as  a  traitor.  Well,  by  the  time  you  get  back  to- 
night, that  is  if  you  do  come  back,  I  will  get  up  a  chest 
I've  got  buried  with  my  men's  clothes  in  it.  They  didn't 
want  to  take  them  away  to  the  war  with  them,  so  I  hid 
them  up." 

She  had  by  this  time  dug  up  the  keg  from  its  hiding- 
place,  and  now  filled  Tony's  canteen. 

"Tank  you,  missus;  de  Lord  bress  you  for  what 
you've  done,  wheder  I  get  Massa  Wingfield  off  or  wheder 
we  bofe  get  killed  ober  de  job.  But  I  must  get  back  as 
fast  as  I  can.  Ef  it  was  dark  before  I  got  to  camp  dey 
would  wonder  whar  I  had  been." 

"Oh,  you  have  plenty  of  time,"  the  woman  said;  "it 
won't  be  dark  till  eight  o'clock,  and  it's  not  seven  yet.  I 
will  set  to  and  boil  a  good  chunk  of  pork  and  bake  some 
cakes.  It's  no  use  getting  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Yanks 
and  then  going  and  getting  starved  in  the  swamps." 

Directly  Tony  got  back  to  his  regiment  he  strolled  over 
to  the  shed  where  Vincent  was  confined.  Two  sentinels 
were  on  duty,  the  sergeant  and  the  two  other  men  were 
lying  at  full  length  on  the  ground  some  twenty  yards 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA*  349 

away.  Their  muskets  were  beside  them,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent to  Tony  by  the  vigilant  watch  that  they  kept  up  on 
the  shed  that  their  responsibility  weighed  heavily  upon 
them  and  that  Captain  Pearce  had  impressed  upon  them 
that  if  the  prisoner  escaped  they  would  certainly  be  shot. 

"Well,  Sergeant  John  Newson."  Tony  began,  "I  hab 
just  walked  ober  to  see  how  you  getting  on.  It  am  a 
mighty  'sponsible  business  dis.  I  had  six  hours  of  him, 
and  it  make  de  perspiration  run  down  my  back  to  tink 
what  a  job  it  would  be  for  me  if  dat  fellow  was  to  run 
away." 

"Dat's  just  what  dis  chile  feel,  Sergeant  Tony  Morris; 
I  am  zactly  like  dat,  and  dat's  what  dese  men  feel  too. 
We  am  all  on  guard.  De  captain  say,  put  two  on  guard 
at  de  shed  and  let  de  oders  relieb  dem  ebery  hour.  So 
dey  shall;  but  dose  off  duty  must  watch  just  the  same. 
When  it  gets  dark  we  get  close  up,  so  as  to  be  ready  to 
jump  in  directly  we  hear  a  stir.     Dis  fellow  no  fool  us." 

"Dat's  the  way,  Sergeant  Newson,  dat  am  de  way. 
Neber  close  your  eye,  but  keep  a  sharp  look  on  dem. 
It's  a  pity  dat  you  not  in  camp  to-night." 

"How  am  dat,  how  am  dat?"  the  sergeant  asked. 

"To  tell  you  de  truf,  sergeant,  tree  or  four  ob  us  hab 
smuggled  in  some  spirits,  and  you  are  one  of  dose  who 
would  hab  come  in  for  a  share  of  it  if  you  had  been  dere." 

"Golly!"  the  sergeant  exclaimed;  "but  dat  is  bery  un- 
fortunate.    Can't  you  manage  to  bring  me  a  little  here?" 

"Well,  you  know,  it's  difficult  to  get  out  ob  camp." 

"Oh,  you  could  get  through.  Dere  is  no  fear  about 
you  being  caught." 

"I  don't  know,"  Tony  replied  with  an  air  of  reluc- 
tance. "Well,  I  will  see  about  it.  Ef  I  can  crawl  troo 
de  sentries,  and  bring  some  for  you  and  de  oders,  I  will. 
It  will  help  keep  you  awake  and  keep  out  de  damp." 

"Dat's  right  down  good  ob  you,"  the  other  said  cor- 


350  WITH  LEE  IN  VIBGINIA. 

dially.  "You  good  man,  Tony  Morris;  and  if  I  can  do 
as  rnnch  for  you  anoder  time,  I  do  it." 

Having  settled  this,  Tony  went  round  to  the  hospital 
tent  in  rear  of  the  regiment,  having  tied  up  his  face  with 
a  handkerchief. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  sergeant  ?"  the  negro,  who  acted  aa 
an  orderly  and  sometimes  helped  the  surgeon  mix  his 
drugs,  asked.  "De  doctor  am  gone  away,  and  I  don't 
'spect  he  come  back  again  to-night." 

"Dat  am  bery  bad  ting,"  Tony  said  dolefully.  "Can't 
you  do  something  for  me,  Sam  Smith?  I  tink  you  know 
quite  as  much  about  de  medicines  as  de  doctor  himself." 

"Not  quite  so  much,  sergeant,  not  quite  so  much;  but 
I'se  no  fool,  and  my  old  mother  she  used  to  make  medi- 
cine for  de  plantation  and  knew  a  heap  about  herbs,  so 
it  am  natural  dat  I  should  take  to  it.  What  can  I  gib 
you?" 

"Well,  Sam,  you  see  sometimes  I'se  'flicted  dre'fful 
wkl  de  faceache — him  just  go  jump,  jump,  jump,  as  ef 
he  bust  right  up.  Mose  times  I  find  de  best  ting  am  to 
put  a  little  laudabun  in  my  mouf,  and  a  little  on  bit  of 
rag  and  put  him  outside.  De  best  ting  would  be  for  you 
to  gib  me  little  bottle  of  him;  den  when  de  pain  come  on 
I  could  jess  take  him,  and  not  be  troubling  you  ebery 
day.  And  Sam,  jus3  you  whisper — I  got  hold  of  a  little 
good  stuff.  You  gib  me  tin  mug;  me  share  what  I  hab 
got  wid  you." 

The  negro  grinned  with  delight,  and  going  into  the 
tent  brought  out  a  tin  mug. 

"Dat's  all  right,  Sam;  but  you  hab  no  brought  de 
bottle  of  laudabun  too.  You  just  fetch  dat,  and  I  gib 
you  de  spirit." 

The  negro  went  in  again,  and  in  two  minutes  returned 
with  a  small  bottle  of  laudanum. 

"Dat's  a  fair  exchange,"  Tony  said,  taking  it,  and 
handing  to  the  man  his  mug  half-full  of  spirit. 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  351 

"Dat  am  someting  like,"  the  black  said,  looking  with 
delight  at  the  liberal  allowance.  "Me  drink  him  de  last 
ting  at  night,  den  me  go  to  sleep  and  no  one  'spect 
nuffin'.     Whereber  you  get  dat  spirit?" 

"Never  you  mind,  Sam,"  Tony  said  with  a  grin. 
"Dar's  more  where  dat  comes  from,  and  maybe  you  will 
get  anoder  taste  ob  it." 

Then  after  leaving  the  hospital  tent  he  poured  half  the 
spirits  away,  for  he  had  not  now  to  depend  upon  the 
effect  of  that  alone;  and  it  were  better  not  to  give  it  too 
strong,  for  that  might  arouse  the  suspicion  of  the  guard. 
Then  he  uncorked  the  bottle  of  laudanum. 

"I  don't  know  how  much  to  gib,"  he  said  to  himself. 
"No  good  to  kill  dem.  Me  don't  'spect  dis  stuff  bery 
strong.  Dose  rogues  sell  all  sorts  of  stuff  to  de  govern- 
ment. Anyting  good  enough  for  de  soldier.  Dey  gib 
him  rotten  boots,  and  rotten  cloth,  and  bad  powder,  and 
all  sorts  of  tings.  I  spect  dey  gib  him  bad  drugs  too. 
However,  me  must  risk  it.  Dis  bottle  not  bery  big,  any- 
how— won't  hold  more  dan  two  or  three  teaspoon.  Must 
risk  him." 

So  saying  he  poured  the  contents  of  the  vial  into  the 
canteen,  and  then  going  to  a  water-cart  rilled  it  up.  He 
waited  until  the  camp  v/as  quiet,  and  then,  taking  off  his 
boots  and  fastening  in  his  belt  his  own  bayonet  and  that 
of  one  of  the  men  sleeping  near,  he  quietly  and  cautiously 
made  his  way  out  of  camp.  There  were  no  sentries 
placed  here,  for  there  was  no  fear  whatever  of  an  attack, 
and  he  had  little  difficulty  in  making  his  way  round  to 
the  back  of  the  village  to  the  spot  where  Vincent  was 
confined.  He  moved  so  quietly  that  he  was  not  per- 
ceived until  he  was  within  a  few  yards  of  the  shed. 

"Sergeant  Newson,  am  you  dere?" 

"Bress  me,  what  a  start  you  hab  given  me,  for  suah!" 
the  sergeant  said.     "I  did  not  hear  you  coming." 


352  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"You  didn't  s'pose  I  Avas  coming  along  shouting  and 
whistling,  Sergeant  Newson?  Don't  you  talk  so  loud. 
Dar  am  no  saying  who's  about.'' 

"Hab  you  brought  de  stuff?" 

"You  don't  s'pose  I  should  hab  come  all  dis  way  to 
tell  you  I  hab  not  got  it.     How  am  de  prisoner?" 

"Oh,  he's  dere  all  right.  My  orders  was  to  look  in  at 
dat  little  winder  ebery  five  minutes,  and  dat  when  it  be- 
gan to  get  dark  me  was  to  tie  him  quite  tight,  and  me 
hab  done  so.  And  one  of  de  sentries  goes  in  every  five 
minutes  and  feels  to  see  if  de  ropes  are  tight.  He  am 
dar,  sure  enough." 

"Dat's  quit?  right,  Sergeant  Newson.  I  knew  when 
you  came  to  'lieve  me  as  de  captain  knew  what  he  was 
doing  when  he  choose  you  for  dis  job.  He  just  pick  out 
de  man  he  considers  de  very  best  in  de  regiment.  Now, 
here  is  de  spirit;  and  fuss-rate  stuff  it  am,  too." 

"Golly,  but  it  am  strong!"  the  sergeant  said,  taking  a 
long  gulp  at  the  canteen.  "Dat  warm  de  cockles  ob  de 
heart  in  no  time.  Yes,  it  am  good  stuff — 'just  de  ting  for 
dis  damp  air.  I  hear  as  a  lot  of  de  white  soldiers  are 
down  wid  de  fever  already,  and  dere  will  be  lots  and  lots 
more  ef  we  stop  here  long.  Here,  you  two  men,  take  a 
drink  of  dis;  but  mind,  you  mustn't  tell  no  one  'bout  it. 
Dis  a  secret  affair." 

The  two  negroes  each  took  a  long  drink,  and  returned 
the  canteen  with  warm  expressions  of  approval. 

"De  oder  men  are  on  duty,"  the  sergeant  said  with  the 
air  of  a  man  who  knew  his  business;  "dey  mustn't  hab 
none  of  it,  not  until  dey  comes  off.  As  we  are  de  relief, 
it  am  proper  and  right  dat  we  drink  a  drop  out  of  a 
canteen  ef  we  want  it." 

"Quite  so  Sergeant  Newson,"  Tony  said  in  a  tone  of 
admiration.  "Dat's  de  way  to  manage  dese  tings— duty 
first  and  pleasure  afterward." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  353 

"It  am  nearly  time  to  relieve  guard,"  the  other  said; 
"and  den  dey  can  have  a  drink." 

In  five  minutes  the  two  soldiers  relieved  those  on  guard, 
and  they  also  took  a  long  drink  at  the  canteen,  to  which 
the  sergeant  also  again  applied  his  lips. 

"Now  I  must  be  going,"  Tony  said.  "I  will  leave  the 
canteen  with  you,  sergeant.  I  have  got  some  more  of 
the  stuff  over  there,  and  I  dare  say  you  will  like  another 
drink  before  morning." 

So  saying  he  stole  away,  but  halted  and  lay  down 
twenty  yards  distant.  In  ten  minutes  he  heard  the  ser- 
geant say: 

"I  feel  as  if  I  could  do  just  five  minutes  sleep.  You 
keep  your  eyes  on  de  shed,  and  ef  you  hear  any  officer 
coming  his  rounds  you  wake  me  up." 

Tony  waited  another  half-hour  and  then  crawled  up. 
The  sergeant  was  lying  on  his  back  sound  asleep;  the  two 
men  with  him  were  on  their  faces,  with  their  rifles  point- 
ing toward  the  shed,  as  if  they  had  dropped  off  to  sleep 
while  they  were  staring  at  it.  Then  he  crawled  on  to  the 
shed.  The  soldier  on  sentry  at  the  back  had  grounded 
his  musket  and  was  leaning  against  the  shed  fast  asleep, 
while  the  one  at  the  door  had  apparently  slid  down  in  a 
sitting  position  and  was  snoring. 

"I  hope  I  haben't  given  it  to  dem  too  strong,"  Tony 
said  to  himself;  "but  it  can't  be  helped  anyhow." 

He  opened  the  door  and  entered  the  shed. 

"Are  you  awake,  Marse  Wingfield?" 

"Yes,  I  am  awake,  Tony.  Thank  God  you  have  come! 
How  did  you  manage  it?" 

"I  hab  managed  it,  sah,  and  dey  are  all  fast  asleep," 
Tony  said,  as  he  cut  the  ropes  which  bound  Vincent. 

"Now,  sah,  let's  be  going  quick.  Dar  am  no  saying 
when  dey  may  come  round  to  look  after  de  guards.  Dat's 
what  I  hab  been  worrying  about  de  last  quarter  ob  an 
hour." 


g    l  WITH  LEE  Ilf  VIRGINIA. 

Vincent  sprang  to  his  feet  as  the  ropes  fell  from  him, 
and  grasped  Tony's  hand. 

"Here  am  a  bayonet  sah.  I  hope  we  shan't  want  to 
use  dem,  but  dar  am  no  saying." 

They  made  their  way  cautiously  across  the  fields  till 
they  approached  another  camp.  A  few  sentries  were 
•walking  up  and  down  in  front  of  it,  but  they  crawled 
round  these  and  passed  through  the  space  between  the 
regiment  and  that  next  to  it.  Several  other  camps  were 
passed;  and  then,  when  Vincent  knew  that  they  were 
well  in  rear  of  the  whole  of  them,  they  rose  to  their  feet 
and  started  forward  at  a  run.  Suddenly  Tony  touched 
Vincent,  and  they  both  stood  still.  A  distant  shout 
came  through  the  air,  followed  by  another  and  another. 

"I  'spect  dey  hab  found  out  we  have  gone,  sah.  Dey 
go  round  two  or  tree  times  in  de  night  to  see  dat  de  sen- 
tries are  awake.     Wow,  sah,  come  along." 

They  were  on  the  road  now,  and  ran  at  full  speed  until 
they  approached  Union.  They  left  the  track  as  they 
neared  the  village,  and  as  they  did  so  they  heard  the 
sound  of  a  horse  at  full  gallop  behind  them. 

"That's  an  orderly  taking  the  news  of  our  escape. 
Sheridan's  cavalry  are  scattered  all  over  the  country,  and 
there  are  two  squadrons  at  Union  Grove.  The  whole 
country  will  be  alive  at  daybreak." 

Making  their  way  through  the  fields  they  soon  struck 
the  track  leading  to  Worley  Farm,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
were  at  the  door.     The  woman  opened  it  at  once. 

"I  have  been  watching  for  you,"  she  said,  "and  I  am 
real  glad  you  have  got  safe  away.  Wait  a  minute  and  I 
will  strike  a  light." 

"You  had  better  not  do  that,"  Vincent  said.  "They 
have  got  the  alarm  at  Union  Grove  already,  and  if  any 
one  caught  sight  of  a  light  appearing  in  your  window,  it 
would  bring  them  down  here  at  once." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  355 

''They  can't  see  the  house  from  Union,"  the  woman 
said.  "Still,  perhaps  it  will  be  best.  Now,  sir,  I  can't 
do  anything  for  you,  because  my  men's  clothes  are  the 
same  sort  of  cut  as  yours;  but  here's  a  suit  for  this  man." 

Thanking  her  warmly  Vincent  handed  the  things  to 
Tony. 

"Make  haste  and  slip^them  on,  Tony;  and  make  your 
other  things  up  into  a  bundle  and  bring  them  with  you 
for  a  bit.  We  must  leave  nothing  here,  for  they  will 
search  the  whole  country  to-morrow.  We  will  take  the 
horse  away  too;  not  that  we  want  it,  but  it  would  never 
do  for  it  to  be  found  here." 

"Will  you  take  your  letter  again?"  the  woman  asked. 

"No,  I  will  leave  it  with  you.  It  will  be  no  use  now 
if  I  get  through,  but  if  you  hear  to-morrow  or  next  day 
that  I  am  caught,  pler.se  carry  it  as  we  arranged.  What 
is  this?"  he  asked  as  the  woman  handed  him  a  bundle. 

"Here  are  eight  or  ten  pounds  of  pork,"  she  said,  "and 
some  corn-cakes.  If  you  are  hiding  away  you  will  want 
something,  and  I  reckon  anyhow  you  won't  be  able  to 
make  your  way  to  our  people  for  a  bit.  Now,  if  you  are 
ready  I  will  start  with  you." 

"You  will  start  with  us!"  Vincent  repeated  in  surprise. 

"Certainly  I  will  start  with  you,"  the  woman  said. 
"How  do  you  think  you  would  be  able  to  find  your  way  a 
dark  night  like  this?  No,  sir;  I  will  put  you  on  your 
way  till  morning.  But,  in  the  first  place,  which  line  do 
you  mean  to  take?" 

"I  do  not  think  there  is  much  chance  of  getting  back 
the  way  we  came,"  Vincent  said.  "By  morning  Sheri- 
dan's cavalry  will  have  got  a  description  of  me,  and  the] 
will  be  scouring  the  whole  country.  The  only  chanc* 
will  be  to  go  north  and  cross  the  river  somewhere  nea! 
Norfolk/" 

"I  think,  sah,  you  better  go  on  wid  your  horse  at  onci 


356  WITH  LEE  IN  VIBGINIA. 

No  use  wait  for  me.  I  come  along  on  foot,  find  my  own 
way." 

"No,  Tony,  I  shall  certainly  not  do  that.  We  will 
either  get  off  or  be  taken  together.  "Well,  I  think  the 
best  plan  will  be  to  go  straight  down  to  the  river.  How 
far  is  it  away?" 

"About  fifteen  miles,"  the  woman  said. 

"If  we  get  there  we  can  get  hold  of  a  boat  somehow, 
and  either  cross  and  then  make  straight  for  Eichmond  on 
foot,  or  go  up  the  river  in  the  boat  and  land  in  the  rear 
of  our  lines.  That  we  can  settle  about  afterward.  The 
first  thing  is  to  get  to  the  river  bank.  We  are  not  likely 
to  meet  with  any  interruption  in  that  direction.  Of 
course  the  cavalry  are  all  on  the  other  flank,  and  it  will 
be  supposed  that  I  shall  try  either  to  work  round  that 
way  or  to  make  straight  through  the  lines.  They  would 
hardly  suspect  that  I  shall  take  to  the  river,  which  is 
covered  with  their  transports  and.store-ships." 

"I  think  that  is  the  best  plan,"  the  woman  said. 
"There  are  scarce  any  villages  between  this  and  the 
river.  It's  only  just  when  you  cross  the  road  between 
Petersburg  and  Williamsburg  that  you  would  be  likely  to 
meet  a  soul,  even  in  the  daytime.  There  is  scarce  even  a 
farmhouse  across  this  section.  I  know  the  country  pretty 
well.  Just  stop  a  minute  and  I  will  run  up  to  the  wood 
and  fetch  down  the  horse.  There's  a  big  wood  about  a 
mile  away,  and  you  can  turn  him  in  there." 

A  few  minutes  later  they  started,  Vincent  leading  the 
horse  and  Tony  carrying  the  bundle  of  food  and  his  cast- 
off  uniform.  The  woman  led  them  by  farm  roads,  some- 
times turning  off  to  the  right  or  left,  but  keeping  her  way 
with  a  certainty  which  showed  how  well  she  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  country.  Several  times  they  could 
hear  the  dull  sound  of  bodies  of  cavalry  galloping  along 
the  roads;  but  this  died  away  as  they  got  further  into  the 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  357 

country.  The  horse  had  been  turned  loose  a  mile  from 
their  starting  place.  Vincent  removed  the  bridle  and 
saddle,  saying:  "He  will  pick  up  enough  to  feed  on  here 
for  some  time.  When  be  gets  tired  of  the  wood  he  can 
work  his  way  out  into  a  clearing." 

Here  Tony  hid  away  his  uniform  among  some  tbick 
bushes,  and  the  three  walked  steadily  along  until  the 
first  tinge  of  daylight  appeared  on  the  sky.  Then  the 
woman  stopped. 

"The  river  is  not  more  than  half  a  mile  in  front  of 
you,"  she  said;  "so  I  will  say  good-by." 

"What  will  you  do?"  Vincent  asked.  "You  might  be 
questioned  as  you  get  near  home." 

"I  am  going  to  put  up  at  the  last  house  we  passed," 
she  said,  "about  three  miles  back.  I  know  the  people 
there,  and  they  will  take  me  in.  I  will  stop  there  for  a 
day  or  two,  maybe,  then  walk  back,  so  I  shall  have  a  true 
story  to  tell.     That's  all  right." 

Vincent  said  good-by  to  her,  with  many  hearty  thanks 
for  the  services  she  had  rendered  him,  and  had  almost  to 
force  her  to  take  notes  for  two  hundred  dollars  from  the 
bundle  he  had  sewn  up  in  the  lining  of  his  coat. 

"You  have  saved  my  life,"  he  said,  "and  some  day  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  do  more  to  show  my  gratitude;  but  you 
must  take  this  anyhow  to  tide  you  over  the  hard  times, 
and  find  food  for  your  husband  and  sons  when  they  come 
back  from  the  war." 

As  soon  as  the  woman  had  turned  back  Vincent  and 
Tony  continued  on  their  way.  The  former  had,  as  soon 
as  they  were  fairly  out  from  the  Federal  camp,  told  Tony 
in  a  few  words  that  his  wife  was  safe  at  home  and  their 
boy  flourishing,  and  he  now  gave  him  further  details  of 
them. 

"And  how  came  you  to  enter  the  army,  Tony?" 

"Well,  sah,  dere  wasn't  much  choice  about  it.     De 


358  WITH  LEE  1ST  VIRGINIA. 

Northern  people,  dey  talk  mighty  high  about  der  love 
for  de  negro,  but  I  don't  see  much  of  it  in  der  ways. 
"Why,  sah,  dey  is  twice  as  scornful  ob  a  black  man  as  de 
gentleman  is  in  de  Souf.  I  list  in  de  army,  sah,  because 
''dey  say  dey  go  to  Kichmond,  and  den  I  find  Dinah  and 
de  boy." 

"Well,  Tony,  I  little  thought  when  I  did  you  a  service 
that  it  would  be  the  means  of  you  being  able  to  save  my 
life  some  day." 

"Not  much  in  dat,  sah.  You  sabe  my  life,  because 
dey  would,  for  suah,  hab  caught  me  and  killed  me.  Den 
you  save  my  wife  for  me,  den  you  pay  out  dat  Jackson, 
and  now  you  hab  killed  him.  I  could  hab  shouted  for 
joy,  sah,  when  I  saw  you  hit  him  ober  de  head  wid  de 
shovel,  and  I  saw  dat  dis  time  he  gib  no  more  trouble  to 
no  one.  I  should  hab  done  for  him  bevy  soon,  sah.  I 
had  my  eye  upon  him,  and  the  fust  time  we  go  into  battle 
he  get  a  ball  in  his  back.  Lucky  he  didn't  see  me.  He 
not  officer  ob  my  company,  and  me  look  quite  different 
in  de  uniform  to  what  me  was  when  I  work  on  de  planta- 
tion; but  I  know  him,  and  wheneber  I  see  him  pass  I 
hang  down  my  head  and  I  say  to  myself,  'My  time  come 
soon,  Massa  Jackson;  my  time  come  bery  soon,  and  den 
we  get  quits.'  " 

"It  is  wrong  to  nourish  revenge,  Tony;  but  I  really 
can't  blame  you  very  much  as  to  that  fellow.  Still,  I 
should  have  blamed  you  if  you  had  killed  him — blamed 
you  very  much.  He  was  a  bad  man,  and  he  treated  you 
brutally,  but  you  see  he  has  been  already  punished  a  good 
deal." 

"Yes,  you  knock  him  down,  sah.  Dat  bery  good, 
but  not  enough  for  Tony." 

"But  that  wasn't  all,  Tony.  You  see,  the  affair  set  all 
my  friends  against  him,  and  his  position  became  a  very 
unpleasant  one.     Then,  you  see,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  you 


WITH  LEE  m  VIRGINIA.  859 

he  would  probably  have  got  through  to  our  lines  again 
after  he  had  escaped  with  me.  Then,  you  see^  his  father, 
out  of  revenge,  stole  Dinah  away." 

"Stole  Dinah!"  Tony  exclaimed,  stopping  in  his  walk. 
"Why,  sah,  you  hab  been  telling  me  dat  she  is  safe  and 
well  wid  Mrs.  Wingfield." 

"So  she  is,  Tony.  But  he  stole  her  for  all  that,  and 
had  her  carried  down  into  Carolina;  but  I  managed  to 
bring  her  back.  It's  a  long  story,  but  I  will  tell  you 
about  it  presently.  Then  the  knowledge  that  I  had 
found  Dinah,  and  the  fear  of  punishment  for  his  share  of 
taking  her  away,  caused  old  Jackson  to  fly  from  the 
country,  getting  less  than  a  quarter  of  the  sum  his  estate 
would  have  fetched  two  or  three  years  ago.  That  was 
what  made  him  and  his  son  turn  Unionists.  So,  you  see, 
Jackson  was  heavily  punished  for  his  conduct  to  you,  and 
it  did  not  need  for  you  to  revenge  yourself." 

"So  he  was,  sah,  so  he  was,"  Tony  said  thoughtfully. 
"Yes,  it  does  seem  as  if  all  dese  tings  came  on  kinder  one 
after  de  oder  just  out  ob  dat  flogging  he  gabe  me;  and 
now  he  has  got  killed  for  just  de  same  cause,  for  if  he 
hadn't  been  obliged  to  turn  Unionist  he  wouldn't  have 
been  in  dat  dar  battery  at  de  time  you  came  dere.  Yes, 
I  sees  dat  is  so,  sah;  and  I'se  glad  now  I  didn't  hab  a 
chance  ob  shooting  him  down,  for  I  should  have  done  so 
for  suah  ef  I  had." 

They  had  now  reached  the  river.  The  sun  was  just 
showing  above  the  horizon,  and  the  broad  sheet  of  water 
was  already  astir.  Steamers  were  making  their  way  up 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river  laden  with  stores  for  the 
army.  Little  tugs  were  hurrying  to  and  fro.  Vessels  that 
had  discharged  their  cargo  were  dropping  down  with  the 
tide,  while  many  sailing-vessels  lay  at  anchor  waiting  for 
the  turn  of  tide  to  make  their  way  higher  up.  Norfolk 
was,  however,  the  base  from   which  the  Federal  army 


360  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

drew  the  larger  portion  of  its  stores,  as  there  were  great 
conveniences  for  landing  here,  and  a  railway  thence  ran 
up  to  the  rear  of  their  lines.  But  temporary  wharfs  and 
stages  had  been  erected  at  the  point  of  the  river  nearest 
%o  their  camps  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and  here  the  cattle 
and  much  of  the  stores  required  for  the  army  were 
landed.  At  the  point  at  which  Vincent  and  Tony  had 
struck  the  river  the  banks  were  somewhat  low.  Here 
and  there  were  snug  farms,  with  the  ground  cultivated 
down  to  the  river.  The  whole  country  was  open  and  free 
from  trees,  except  where  small  patches  had  been  left.  It 
was  in  front  of  one  of  these  that  Vincent  and  Tony  were 
now  standing. 

"I  do  not  think  there  is  any  risk  of  pursuit  now,  Tony. 
This  is  not  the  line  on  which  they  will  be  hunting  us. 
The  question  is — how  are  we  to  get  across?" 

"It's  too  far  to  swim,  sah." 

"I  should  think  it  was,"  Vincent  said  with  a  laugh. 
"It's  three  or  four  miles,  I  should  say,  if  it's  a  foot.  The 
first  question  is — where  are  we  to  get  a  boat?  I  should 
think  that  some  of  these  farmhouses  are  sure  to  have 
boats,  but  the  chances  are  they  have  been  seized  by  the 
Yankees  long  ago.  Still  they  may  have  some  laid  up. 
The  Yanks  would  not  have  made  much  search  for  these, 
though  they  would  no  doubt  take  all  the  larger  boats  for 
the  use  of  the  troops  or  for  getting  stores  ashore.  Any- 
how, I  will  go  to  the  next  farmhouse  and  ask." 

"Shall  I  go,  sah?" 

"No,  Tony,  they  would  probably  take  you  for  a  run- 
away. No,  I  will  go.  There  can  be  no  danger.  The 
men  are  all  away,  and  the  women  are  sure  to  be  loyal.  I 
fancy  the  few  who  were  the  other  way  before  will  have 
changed  their  minds  since  the  Yanks  landed." 

They  followed  the  bank  of  the  river  for  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  then  Vincent  walked  on  to  a  small  farmhouse 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  361 

standing  on  the  slope  fifty  yards  from  the  water.  Two 
or  three  children  who  were  playing  about  outside  at  once 
ran  in  upon  seeing  a  stranger,  and  a  moment  later  two 
women  came  out.  They  were  somewhat  reassured  when 
they  saw  Vincent  approaching  alone. 

"What  is  it,  stranger?"  one  of  them  asked.  "Do  you 
want  a  meal?  We  have  got  little  enough  to  offer  you, 
but  what  there  is  you  are  welcome  to;  the  Yanks  have 
driven  off  our  cows  and  pigs  and  the  two  horses,  and  have 
emptied  the  barns,  and  pulled  up  all  the  garden  stuff, 
and  stole  the  fowls,  and  carried  off  the  bacon  from  the 
beams,  so  we  have  got  but  an  empty  larder.  But  as  far 
as  bread  and  molasses  go,  you  are  welcome." 

"Thank  you,"  Vincent  said;  "I  am  not  in  want  of 
food.     What  I  am  in  want  of  is  a  boat." 

"Boat!"  the  woman  repeated  in  surprise. 

"Yes,  I  want  to  get  across  to  the  other  side,  or  else  to 
get  up  the  river  and  land  between  Petersburg  and  Ber- 
muda." 

"Sakes  alive!"  the  woman  exclaimed;  "what  do  you 
want  to  do  that  for?" 

"I  will  tell  you,"  Vincent  replied.  "I  know  I  can 
trust  my  life  to  any  woman  in  the  Confederacy.  I  am 
one  of  General  Wade  Hampton's  officers,  and  I  have 
come  through  their  lines  to  find  out  what  they  are  doing. 
I  have  been  caught  once,  but  managed  to  slip  through 
their  hands,  but  there  is  no  possibility  of  making  my  way 
back  across  the  country,  for  the  Yankee  cavalry  are 
patrolling  every  road,  and  the  only  chance  I  have  is  of 
getting  away  by  boat." 

"Step  right  in,  sir,"  the  woman  said.  "It's  a  real 
pleasure  to  us  to  have  one  of  our  officers  under  our  roof." 

"I  have  a  friend  with  me,"  Vincent  said;  "a  faithful 
negro,  who  has  helped  me  to  escape,  and  who  would  be 
hung  like  a  dog  if  they  could  lay  hands  on  him." 


362  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"Bring  him  in,  sir/'  the  woman  said  hospitably.  **f 
had  four  or  five  niggers  till  the  Yanks  came,  but  they  all 
ran  away  'cause  they  knew  they  would  either  be  set  to 
work  or  made  to  fight;  so  they  went.  They  said  they 
would  come  back  again  when  the  trouble  is  over;  maybe 
they  will  and  maybe  they  won't.  At  first  the  niggers 
about  here  used  to  look  for  the  Yanks  coming,  but  as  the 
news  got  about  of  what  happened  to  those  they  took  from 
their  masters,  they  concluded  they  were  better  off  where 
they  were.     Call  your  boy  in,  sir;  call  him  in." 

Vincent  gave  a  shout,  and  Tony  at  once  came  up. 

"Thank  you,  we  don't  want  anything  to  eat,"  Vincent 
went  on  as  the  woman  began  to  put  some  plates  on  the 
table.  "We  have  just  had  a  hearty  meal,  and  have  got 
enough  food  for  three  or  four  days  in  that  bundle.  But 
we  want  a  boat,  or,  if  we  can't  find  that,  some  sailors' 
clothes.  If  I  bad  them  I  would  keep  along  the  river 
down  to  Norfolk.  The  place  will  be  full  of  sailors.  We 
should  not  be  likely  to  be  noticed  there." 

"I  can't  help  you  in  that,"  the  woman  said;  "but 
there  are  certainly  some  boats  laid  up  along  the  shore. 
Now,  Maria,  who  has  got  boats  that  haven't  been  taken?" 

"I  expect  the  Johnsons  have  got  one,"  the  other 
woman  replied.  "They  had  a  small  boat  the  boys  and 
girls  used  to  go  out  fishing  in.  I  don't  think  the  Yanks 
have  got  that.  I  expect  they  hid  it  away  somewhere; 
but  I  don't  know  as  they  would  let  you  have  it.  She  is 
a  close-fisted  woman  is  Sarah  Johnson." 

"I  could  pay  her  for  its  value,"  Vincent  said. 

"Oh,  well,  if  you  could  pay  her  she  would  let  you  have 
it.  I  don't  say  she  wouldn't,  anyhow,  seeing  as  you  are 
an  officer,  and  the  Yanks  are  after  you.  Still,  she  is  close, 
is  Sarah  Johnson,  and  I  don't  know  as  she  is  so  set  on  the 
Confederacy  as  most  people.  I  tell  you  what  I  will  do, 
sir,     I  will  go  down  and  say  as  a  stranger  wauts  to  buy 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  363 

her  boat,  and  no  questions  asked.  She  is  just  to  show- 
where  the  boat  is  hidden,  and  you  are  to  pay  for  it  and 
take  it  away  when  you  want  it." 

"That  would  be  a  very  good  plan/'  Vincent  said,  "if 
you  wouldn't  mind  the  trouble." 

"The  trouble  is  nothing,"  she  said.  "Johnson's  place 
ain't  above  a  mile  along  the  shore." 

"I  will  go  with  you  until  you  get  close  to  the  house," 
Vincent  said;  "then,  when  you  hear  what  she  wants  for 
the  boat,  I  will  give  you  the  money  for  it,  and  you  can 
show  me  where  it  is  hidden." 

This  was  accordingly  done.  Mrs.  Johnson,  after  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  bargaining  with  Vincent's  guide, 
agreed  to  take  twenty  dollars  for  the  boat,  and  upon  re- 
ceiving the  money  sent  down  one  of  her  boys  with  her  to 
show  her  where  it  was  hidden.  It  was  in  a  hole  that 
had  been  scooped  out  in  the  steep  bank  some  ten  feet 
above  the  water's  edge,  and  was  completely  hidden  from 
the  sight  of  any  one  rowing  past  by  a  small  clump  of 
bushes.  When  the  boys  had  returned  to  the  farmhouse 
the  woman  took  Vincent  to  the  spot,  and  they  then  went 
back  together. 

Here  he  and  Tony  had  a  long  talk  as  to  whether  it 
would  be  better  to  put  out  at  once  or  to  wait  till  night^ 
fall.  It  was  finally  determined  that  it  was  best  to  make 
an  immediate  start.  A  boat  rowed  by  two  men  would 
attract  little  attention.  It  might  belong  to  any  of  the 
ships  at  anchor  in  the  river,  and  might  be  supposed  to 
have  gone  on  shore  to  fetch  eggs  or  chickens,  or  with  a 
letter  or  a  message. 

"You  see,  both  shores  are  in  the  hands  o{  the 
Yankees,"  Vincent  said,  "and  there  will  not  be  any  sus- 
picion of  a  boat  in  the  daytime.  At  night  we  might  be 
hailed,  and  if  we  gave  no  answer  fired  upon,  and  that 
might  bring  a  gunboat  along  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 


364  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

No,  I  think  it  will  be  far  best  to  go  on  boldly.  There 
are  not  likely  to  be  any  bodies  of  Federal  troops  on  the 
opposite  shore  except  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  perhaps 
opposite  the  point  where  they  have  got  their  landing 
below  Petersburg.  Once  ashore  we  shall  be  safe.  The 
peninsula  opposite  is  covered  with  forest  and  swamp,  and 
we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  getting  through  howev&r 
many  troops  they  may  have  across  it.  You  know  the 
place  pretty  well,  don't  you,  Tony?" 

Tony  nodded.  "Once  across,  sah,  all  de  Yank  army 
wouldn't  catch  us.     Me  know  ob  lots  ob  hiding-places." 

"Them  broad  hats  will  never  do,"  the  woman  said; 
"but  I  have  got  some  blue  nightcaps  I  knitted  for  my 
husband.  They  are  something  like  the  caps  I  have  seen 
some  sailors  wear;  anyhow,  they  will  pass  at  a  distance, 
and  when  you  take  your  coats  and  vests  off,  them  colored 
flannel  shirts  will  be  just  the  right  thing." 

"That  will  do  capitally,  and  the  sooner  we  are  off  the 
better,"  Vincent  said,  and  after  heartily  thanking  the 
two  women,  and  bestowing  a  present  upon  each  of  the 
children,  they  started  along  the  shore. 

The  boat  was  soon  got  into  the  water,  the  oars  put  out, 
and  they  started.  The  tide  was  just  low  now,  and  they 
agreed  to  pull  along  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shore 
until  it  turned.  As  soon  as  it  did  so  the  vessels  at 
anchor  would  be  getting  up  sail  to  make  up  to  the  land- 
ing-place, and  even  had  any  one  on  board  noticed  the 
boat  put  out,  and  had  been  watching  it,  they  would  have 
other  things  to  think  about. 

"It  is  some  time  since  we  last  rowed  in  a  boat  to- 
gether, Tony." 

"About  three  years,  sah;  dat  time  when  you  got  me 
sale  away.  I  had  a  bad  fright  dat  day  you  left  me,  sah. 
It  came  on  to  blow  bery  hard,  and  some  ob  de  men  told  me 
dat  dey  did  not  tink  you  would  ever  get  back  to  shore. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  365 

Dat  made  me  awful  bad,  sah;  and  me  wish  ober  and  ober 
again  dat  me  hab  died  in  de  forest  instead  ob  your  taking 
me  off  in  a  boat  and  trowing  away  your  life.  I  neberfelt 
happy  again,  sah,  till  I  got  your  letter  up  in  Canady,  and 
knew  you  had  got  back  safe  dat  day." 

"We  had  a  narrow  squeak  of  it,  Tony,  and  were  blown 
some  distance  up.  We  were  nearly  swamped  a  score  of 
times,  and  Dan  quite  made  up  his  mind  that  it  was  all  up 
with  us.  However,  we  got  through  safe,  and  I  don't 
think  a  soul,  except  perhaps  Jackson  and  that  rascally 
overseer  of  ours,  who  afterward  had  a  hand  in  carrying 
off  your  wife,  and  lost  his  life  in  consequence,  ever  had  a 
suspicion  we  had  been  doing  more  than  a  long  fishing  ex- 
pedition. I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  when  we  are  going 
through  the  woods.  Now  I  think  it's  pretty  nearly  dead 
water,  and  we  will  begin  to  edge  across." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    BJST)   OF  THE   STRUGGLE. 

Vestcekt  directed  his  course  so  that  while  the  boat's 
head  was  still  pointing  up  the  stream,  and  she  was  ap- 
parently moving  in  the  same  direction  as  the  ships,  she 
was  gradually  getting  out  to  the  middle  of  the  river.  Had 
he  tried  to  row  straight  across  suspicion  might  at  once 
have  been  excited.  In  half  an  hour  they  were  in  the 
middle  of  the  stream.  A  vessel  passing  under  full  sail 
swept  along  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  yards,  and  they 
were  hailed.  Vincent  merely  waved  his  hand  and  con- 
tinued his  course. 

(il  dare  say  those  fellows  wonder  what  we  are  up  to, 
Tony;  but  they  are  not  likely  to  stop  to  inquire.  In 
another  quarter  of  an  hour  we  shall  be  pretty  safe.  Ah! 
there's  a  fellow  who  might  interfere  with  us,"  he  added, 
looking  round.  "Do  you  see  that  little  black  thing  two 
miles  ahead  of  us?  that's  a  steam  launch.  If  she  sees  us 
making  over  she's  likely  enough  to  come  and  ask  us  some 
questions.  We  had  better  head  a  little  more  toward  the 
shore  now.  If  it  comes  to  a  race  every  foot  is  of  impor- 
tance." 

Up  to  now  they  had  been  rowing  in  an  easy  and  leis- 
urely manner,  avoiding  all  appearance  of  haste.  They 
now  bent  to  their  oars,  and  the  boat  began  to  travel  a 
good  deal  faster  through  the  water.  Vincent  glanced 
over  his  shoulder  frequently  at  the  steam  launch. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA,  36"J 

e<rShe  is  keeping  straight  on  in  the  middle  of  the  chan- 
nel, Tony;  evidently  she  hasn't  noticed  us  yet." 

Ten  minutes  after  passing  the  ship  he  exclaimed 
sharply: 

"Row,  Tony,  as  hard  as  you  can;  the  launch  has  just 
passed  that  ship,  and  has  changed  her  course.  I  expect 
the  captain  has  called  their  attention  to  us.  It's  a  race 
now." 

The  boat,  at  the  moment  the  launch  changed  her 
course,  was  rather  more  than  halfway  between  the  center 
of  the  channel  and  the  shore.  The  launch  was  in  the 
center  of  the  channel,  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  higher 
up.  She  had  evidently  put  on  steam  as  she  started  to 
cut  off  the  boat,  for  there  was  now  a  white  wave  at  her 
bow. 

"I  think  we  shall  do  it,  Tony,".  Vincent  said.  "I  don't 
suppose  she  can  go  above  eight  miles  an  hour  and  we  are 
certainly  going  four,  and  she  has  more  than  twice  as  far 
to  travel  as  we  have." 

Those  on  board  the  launch  were  evidently  conscious 
that  they  were  likely  to  lose  the  race,  for  in  a  few  min- 
utes they  began  to  open  fire  with  their  rifles. 

"Fire  away,"  Vincent  said.  "You  ain't  likely  to  hit 
us  a  thousand  yards  off,  and  we  haven't  another  three 
hundred  to  row." 

The  bullets  whistled  overhead,  but  none  of  them  struck 
the  water  within  many  yards  of  the  boat,  and  the  launch 
was  still  four  or  five  hundred  yards  away  when  the  bow 
of  the  boat  touched  the  shore.  Several  muskets  were 
discharged  as  Vincent  and  Tony  leaped  out  and  plunged 
into  the  bushes  that  came  down  to  the  water's  edge. 
The  launch  set  up  a  sharp  series  of  whistles,  and  random 
shots  were  for  some  time  fired  into  the  bushes. 

"It  is  lucky  she  didn't  carry  a  small  gun  in  her  bow," 
Vincent  said;  "for  though  seven  or  eight  hundred  yards 


368  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

is  a  long  range  for  a  rifle,  they  might  likely  enough  have 
hit  us  if  they  had  had  a  gun.  Now,  Tony,  we  shall  have 
to  be  careful,  for  those  whistles  are  no  doubt  meant  as  an 
alarm;  and  although  she  cannot  tell  who  we  are,  she  will 
probably  steam  up,  and  if  they  have  any  force  opposite 
Bermuda  will  give  them  news  that  two  suspicious  char- 
acters have  landed,  and  they  will  have  parties  out  to  look 
for  us." 

"Dey  can  look  as  long  as  dey  like,  sah.  Ef  dose  slave- 
hunters  can't  find  people  in  de  swamps  what  chance  you 
tink  dose  soldiers  have?  None  at  all.  Dey  haven't  got 
no  reward  before  dere  eyes,  and  dey  won't  want  to  be 
going  in  ober  dere  shoes  into  de  mud  and  dirting  dere 
uniforms.  No  fear  ob  dem,  sah.  Dey  make  as  much 
noise  when  dey  march  in  dey  wood  as  a  drove  ob  pigs. 
You  can  hear  dem  a  quarter  ob  a  mile  away." 

They  tramped  on  through  the  woods  through  which 
McOlellan's  force  had  so  painfully  made  their  way  during 
their  first  advance  against  Richmond.  From  time  to 
time  they  could  hear  noises  in  the  forest — shouts,  and 
once  or  twice  the  discharge  of  firearms. 

"Dey  call  dat  hunting,  I  s'pose,"  Tony  said  scornfully. 

They  kept  steadily  on  until  it  began  to  grow  dark  in 
the  forest.  They  were  now  in  the  White  Oak  Swamp 
and  not  eight  miles  from  Eichmond,  and  they  thought  it 
better  to  pause  until  it  became  quite  dark,  ior  they  might 
be  picked  up  by  any  raiding  party  of  cavalry.  Vincent  was 
in  high  spirits.  Now  that  he  had  succeeded  in  his  en- 
terprise, and  had  escaped  almost  by  a  miracle,  he  was 
eager  to  get  back  to  Eichmond  and  carry  his  news  down  to 
General  Lee.  Tony  was  even  more  anxious  to  push  on. 
At  last,  after  three  years'  absence,  he  was  to  see  his  wife 
and  child  again,  and  he  reluctantly  agreed  to  Vincent's 
proposal  for  a  halt. 

"We  shan't  stop  very  long,    Tony;  and  I  own  I  am 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  369 

waiting  quite  as  much  because  I  am  hungry  and  want  to 
eat,  and  because  I  am  desperately  tired,  as  from  any  fear 
of  the  enemy.  We  walked  twenty  miles  last  night  from 
Union  Grove  to  the  river,  then  I  walked  to  the  boat,  back 
to  the  farm  and  then  back  to  the  boat  again — that's  three 
more  miles — and  we  have  gone  another  twenty  now.  I 
am  pretty  nearly  dead  beat,  I  can  tell  you." 

"'I'se  tired  too,  sah;  but  I  feel  I  could  go  on  walking 
all  night  if  I  was  to  see  Dinah  in  de  morning." 

"Well,  I  couldn't,  Tony;  not  to  see  any  one.  I  might 
be  willing  enough,  but  my  legs  wouldn't  take  me." 

They  ate  a  hearty  meal,  and  almost  as  soon  as  they  had 
finished  Vincent  stood  up  again. 

"Well,  Tony,  I  can  feel  for  your  impatience,  and  so  we 
will  struggle  on.  I  have  just  been  thinking  that  when  I 
last  left  my  mother  a  week  since  she  said  she  was  think- 
ing of  going  out  to  the  Orangery  for  a  month  before  the 
leaves  fell,  so  it  is  probable  that  she  may  be  there  now. 
It  is  only  about  the  same  distance  as  it  is  to  Richmond, 
so  we  will  go  straight  there,  I  shall  lose  a  little  time,  of 
course;  but  I  can  be  driven  over  to  Richmond,  so  it  won't 
be  too  much.  Besides,  I  can  put  on  a  pair  of  slippers. 
That  will  be  a  comfort,  for  my  feet  feel  as  if  they  were  in 
vises.     A  cup  of  tea  won't  be  a  bad  thing,  too." 

During  their  walk  through  the  wood  Vincent  had  re- 
lated the  circumstances  of  the  carrying  away  of  Dinah 
and  of  her  rescue.     When  he  had  finished  Tony  had  said: 

"Well,  Massa  Wingfield,  I  don't  know  what  to  say  to 
you.  I  tought  I  owed  you  enuff  before,  but  it  war  noth- 
ing to  dis.  Just  to  tink  dat  you  should  take  all  dat  pains 
to  fetch  Dinah  back  for  me.  I  dunno  how  it  came  to 
you  to  do  it.  It  seems  to  me  like  as  if  you  been  sent 
special  from  heben  to  do  dis  poor  nigger  good.  Words 
ain't  no  good,  sah;  but  ef  I  could  give  my  life  away  a 
hundred  times  for  you  I  would  do  it." 


370  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. ' 

It  took  them  nearly  three  hours'  walking  before  they 
came  in  sight  of  the  Orangery. 

"There  are  lights  in  the  windows/'  Vincent  said. 
"Thank  goodness  they  are  there." 

Vincent  limped  slowly  along  until  he  reached  the 
house. 

"You  stay  out  here,  Tony.  I  will  send  Dinah  out  to 
you  directly.  It  will  be  better  for  her  to  meet  you  here 
alone." 

Vincent  walked  straight  into  the  drawing-room,  where 
his  mother  and  Annie  were  sitting. 

"Why,  Vincent!"  Mrs.  Wingfield  exclaimed,  starting 
up,  "what  has  happened  to  you?  What  are  you  dressed 
up  like  that  for?     Is  anything  the  matter?" 

"Nothing  is  the  matter,  mother,  except  that  I  am  as 
tired  as  a  dog.  Yes,  my  dress  is  not  quite  fit  for  a  draw 
ing-room,"  he  laughed,  looking  down  at  the  rough 
trousers  splashed  with  mud  to  the  waist,  and  his  flannel 
shirt,  for  they  had  not  waited  to  pick  up  their  coats  as 
they  left  the  boat;  "but  nothing  is  the  matter,  I  can  as- 
sure you.  I  will  tell  you  about  it  directly,  but  first  please 
send  for  Dinah  here." 

Mrs.  Wingfield  rang  the  bell  on  the  table  beside  her. 

"Tell  Dinah  I  want  to  speak  to  her  at  once,"  she  said 
to  the  girl  that  answered  it.  Dinah  appeared  in  a  min- 
ute. 

"Dinah,"  Vincent  said,  "has  your  boy  gone  to  bed?" 

"Yes,  sah;  been  gone  an  hour  ago," 

"Well,  just  go  to  him,  and  put  a  shawl  round  him,  and 
go  out  through  the  front  door.  There  is  some  one  stand- 
ing there  you  will  be  glad  to  see." 

Dinah  stood  with  open  eyes,  then  her  hands  began  to 
tremble. 

"Is  it  Tony,  sah;  for  de  Lord's  sake,  is  it  Tony?" 

Vincent  nodded,  and  with  a  little  scream  of  joy  sh<j 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  371 

turned  and  ran  straight  to  the  front  door.  She  con  Id 
not  wait  now  even  to  fetch  her  boy,  and  in  another  mo- 
ment she  was  clasped  in  her  husband's  arms. 

"Now,  Vincent,  tell  us  all  about  it/'  his  mother  said. 
"Don't  you  see  we  are  dying  of  curiosity?" 

"And  I  am  dying  of  fatigue,"  Vincent  said;  "which  is 
a  much  more  painful  sort  of  death,  and  I  can  think  of 
nothing  else  until  I  have  got  these  boots  off.  Annie,  do 
run  and  tell  them  to  bring  me  a  pair  of  slippers  and  a  cup 
of  tea,  and  I  shall  want  the  buggy  at  the  door  ia  half  an 
hour." 

"You  are  not  going  away  again  to-night,  Vincent, 
surely?"  bis  mother  said  anxiously.  "You  do  look  com- 
pletely exhausted." 

"I  am  exhausted,  mother.  I  have  walked  forty-seven 
or  forty-eight  miles,  and  this  cavalry  work  spoils  one 
for  walking  altogether." 

"Walked  forty-eight  miles,  Vincent!  What  on  earth 
have  you  done  that  for?" 

"Not  from  choice,  I  can  assure  you,  mother;  but  you 
know  the  old  saying,  'Needs  must  when  the  devil  drives/ 
and  in  the  present  case  you  must  read  'Yankee'  instead 
of  'the  gentleman  in  black.'  " 

"But  has  Petersburg  fallen?"  Mrs.  Wingfield  asked  in 
alarm. 

"No;  Petersburg  is  safe,  and  is  likely  to  continue  so. 
But  you  must  really  be  patient,  mother,  until  I  have  had 
some  tea,  then  you  can  hear  the  story  in  full." 

When  the  servant  came  in  with  the  tea  Vincent  told 
her  that  she  was  to  tell  Dinah,  whom  she  would  find  on 
the  veranda,  to  bring  her  husband  into  the  kitchen,  and 
to  give  him  everything  he  wanted.  Then,  as  soon  as  he 
had  finished  tea,  he  told  his  mother  and  sister  the  ad- 
ventures he  had  gone  through.  Both  were  crying  when 
he  had  finished. 


372  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

"I  am  proud  of  you,  Vincent,"  his  mother  said.  "It 
is  hard  on  U3  that  you  should  run  such  risks;  still  I  do 
not  blame  you,  my  boy,  for  if  I  had  ten  sons  I  would  give 
them  all  for  my  country." 

Vincent  had  but  just  finished  his  story  when  the  serv- 
ant came  in  and  said  that  the  buggy  was  at  the  door. 

"I  will  go  in  my  slippers,  mother,  but  I  will  run  up 
and  change  my  other  things.  It's  lucky  I  have  got  a 
spare  suit  here.  Any  of  our  fellows  who  happened  to  be 
going  down  to-night  in  the  train  would  think  that  I  was 
mad  were  I  to  go  like  this." 

It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  Vincent 
reached  Petersburg.  He  went  straight  to  his  quarters, 
as  it  would  be  no  use  waking  General  Lee  at  that  hour. 
A  light  was  burning  in  his  room,  and  Dan  was  asleep  at 
the  table  with  his  head  on  his  arms.  He  leaped  up  with 
a  cry  of  joy  as  his  master  entered. 

"Well,  Dan,  here  I  am  safe  again,"  Vincent  said 
cheerily.     "I  hope  you  had  not  begun  to  give  me  up." 

"1  began  to  be  terribly  frightened,  sir — terribly  fright- 
ened. I  went  dis  afternoon  and  asked  Captain  Burley  if 
he  had  any  news  ob  you.  He  said  'No;'  and  asked  me 
ef  I  knew  where  you  ivere.  I  said  'No,  sah;'  that  I  knew 
nuffin  about  it  except  that  you  had  gone  on  some  danger- 
ous job.  He  said  he  hoped  that  you  would  be  back  soon; 
and  certainly,  as  far  as  dey  had  heard,  nuffin  had  hap- 
pened to  you.  Still  I  was  bery  anxious,  and  tought  I 
would  sit  up  till  de  last  train  came  in  from  Eichmond. 
Den  I  tink  I  dropped  off  to  sleep." 

"I  think  you  did,  Dan.  Well,  I  am  too  tired  to  tell 
you  anything  about  it  now,  but  I  have  one  piece  of  news 
for  you;  Tony  has  come  back  to  his  wife." 

"Dat's  good  news,  sah;  bery  good  news.  I  had  begun 
to  be  afraid  dat  Tony  had  been  shot  or  hung  or  some- 
ting.      I   know   Dinah    hab   been    fretting  about    him 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  373 

Naugh  she  never  said  much,  but  when  I  am  at  home  she 

a'Ju,  n,sks  me  all  sorts  of  questions  'bout  him.     She  bery 
glad  w*,  ,, 

mi       ^  now. 

±ne  ne*  morning  Vincent  went  to  General  Lee's 
quarters. 

"I  am  heartily  glad  to  see  you  ,._v,"  the  general  said 
warmly  as  he  entered.  "I  have  blamed  n.vseif  for  letting 
you  go.     Well,  what  success  have  you  had?'' 

"Here  is  a  rough  plan  of  the  works,  general.  1  Ka,ve 
not  had  time  to  do  it  out  fairly,  but  it  shows  the  positions 
of  all  their  principal  batteries,  with  a  rough  estimate  as 
to  the  number  of  guns  that  each  is  intended  to  carry." 

"Excellent!"  the  general  said,  glancing  over  the  plan. 
"This  will  give  us  exactly  the  information  we  want.  We 
must  set  to  with  our  counter-works  at  once.  The  coun- 
try is  indeed  indebted  to  you,  sir.  So  you  managed  to 
cheat  the  Yankees  altogether?" 

"I  should  have  cheated  them,  sir;  but  unfortunately  I 
came  across  an  old  acquaintance  who  denounced  me,  and 
I  had  a  narrow  escape  of  being  shot." 

"Well,  Captain  Wingfield,  I  must  see  about  this  busi- 
ness, and  give  orders  at  once.  Will  you  come  and  break- 
fast with  me  at  half-past  eight?  Then  you  can  give  me 
an  account  of  your  adventures." 

Vincent  returned  to  his  quarters,  and  spent  the  next 
two  hours  in  making  a  detailed  drawing  of  the  enemy's 
positions  and  batteries,  and  then  at  half-past  eight 
walked  over  to  General  Lee's  quarters.  The  general  re- 
turned in  a  few  minutes  with  General  Wade  Hampton 
and  several  other  officers,  and  they  at  once  sat  down  to 
breakfast.  As  the  meal  was  proceeding  an  orderly  en- 
tered with  a  telegram  for  the  general.  General  Lee 
glanced  through  it. 

"This,  gentlemen,  is  from  the  minister  of  war.  I  ac- 
quainted him  by  telegraph  this   morning   that  Captain 


374  WITH  LEE  LK  VIRGINIA. 

Wingfield,  who  had  volunteered  for  the  dangerous  se"  ' 
ice,  had  just  returned  from  the  Federal  lines  with  - iila" 
of  the  positions  and  strength  of  all  the  work?  "uat .  .y 
are  erecting.  I  said  that  I  trusted  tho*  a°h  dlstm" 
guished  service  as  he  had  rejufc^  -uld  be  at  once  re" 
warded  with  promo*'  — '  an'^  tne  minister  telegraphs  to 
me  now  that  h'  Iias  this  morning  signed  this  young 
oiiicers  commission  as  major.  I  heartily  congratulate 
you,  -sir,  on  your  well-earned  step.  And  now,  as  I  see 
you  have  finished  your  breakfast,  perhaps  you  will  give 
us  an  account  of  your  proceedings." 

Vincent  gave  a  detailed  account  of  his  adventures, 
which  were  heard  with  surprise  and  interest. 

"That  was  a  narrow  escape,  indeed,"  the  general  said, 
as  he  finished.  "It  was  a  marvelous  thing  your  lighting 
upon  this  negro,  whom  you  say  you  had  once  had  an  op- 
portunity of  serving,  just  at  that  moment;  and  although 
you  do  not  tell  us  what  was  the  nature  of  the  service  you 
had  rendered  him,  it  must  have  been  a  very  considerable 
service  or  he  would  never  have  risked  his  life  in  that  way 
to  save  yours.  When  these  negroes  do  feel  attachment 
for  their  masters  there  are  no  more  faithful  and  devoted 
fellows.  Well,  in  your  case  certainly  a  good  action  has 
met  with  its  reward;  if  it  had  not  been  for  him  there 
could  be  no  question  that  your  doom  was  sealed.  It  is  a 
strange  thing  too  your  meeting  that  traitor.  I  remember 
reading  about  that  escape  of  yours  from  the  Yankee 
prison.  He  must  have  been  an  ungrateful  villain,  after 
yoiir  taking  him  with  you." 

"He  was  a  bad  fellow,  I  am  afraid,"  Vincent  said; 
"and  the  quarrel  between  us  was  a  long-standing  one." 

"Whatever  your  quarrel  was,"  the  general  said  hotly, 
"a  man  who  would  betray  even  an  enemy  to  death  in  that 
way  is  a  villain.  However,  he  has  gone  to  his  account, 
and  the  country  can  forgive  his  treachery  to  her,  as  I 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  375 

have  no  doubt  you  have  already  done  his  conduct  toward 
yourself." 

A  short  time  afterward  Vincent  had  leave  for  a  week,, 
as  things  were  quiet  at  Petersburg. 

"Mother,"  he  said  on  the  morning  after  he  got  home, 
"I  fear  that  there  is  no  doubt  now  how  this  struggle  will 
end.  I  think  we  might  keep  Grant  at  bay  here,  but  Sher- 
man is  too  strong  for  us  down  in  Georgia.  We  are  al- 
ready cut  off  from  most  of  the  Southern  States,  and  in 
time  Sherman  will  sweep  round  here,  and  then  it  will  be 
all  over.     You  see  it  yourself,  don't  you,  mother?" 

"Yes,  I  am  afraid  it  cannot  continue  much  longer, 
Vincent.     Well,  of  course,  we  shall  fight  to  the  end." 

"I  am  not  talking  of  giving  up,  mother;  I  am  looking 
forward  to  the  future.  The  first  step  will  be  that  all  the 
slaves  will  be  freed.  Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  however 
attached  they  may  be  to  their  masters  and  mistresses 
they  will  lose  their  heads  over  this,  flock  into  the  towns, 
and  nearly  starve  there;  or  else  take  up  little  patches  of 
land  and  cultivate  them,  and  live  from  hand  to  mouth, 
which  will  be  ruin  to  the  present  owners  as  well  as  to 
them.  Anyhow  for  a  time  all  will  be  confusion  and  dis- 
order. Now,  my  idea  is  this,  if  yon  give  all  your  slaves 
their  freedom  at  once,  offer  them  patches  of  land  for  their 
own  cultivation  and  employ  them  at  wages,  you  will  find 
that  a  great  many  of  them  will  stop  with  you.  There  is 
nowhere  for  them  to  go  at  present  and  nothing  to  excite 
them,  so  before  the  general  crash  comes  they  will  have 
settled  down  quietly  to  work  here  in  their  new  positions, 
and  will  not  be  likely  to  go  away." 

"It  is  a  serious  step  to  take,  Vincent,"  Mrs.  Wingfield 
said,  after  thinking  the  matter  over  in  silence  for  some 
time.  "You  do  not  think  there  is  any  probability  of  the 
ultimate  success  of  our  cause?" 

"None,  mother;  I  do  not  think  there  is  even  a  possi- 


876  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

bility.  One  by  one  the  Southern  States  have  been 
wrested  from  the  Confederacy.  Sherman's  march  will 
completely  isolate  us.  We  have  put  our  last  available 
man  in  the  field,  and  tremendous  as  are  the  losses  of  the 
enemy  they  are  able  to  fill  up  the  gaps  as  fast  as  they  are 
made.  No,  mother,  do  not  let  us  deceive  ourselves  on 
that  head.  The  end  must  come,  and  that  before  long. 
The  slaves  will  unquestionably  be  freed,  and  the  only 
question  for  us  is  how  to  soften  the  blow.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  our  slaves,  both  at  the  Orangery  and  at  the 
other  plantations,  are  contented  and  happy;  but  you 
know  how  fickle  and  easily  led  the  negroes  are,  and  in  the 
excitement  of  finding  themselves  free  and  able  to  go 
where  they  please,  you  may  be  sure  that  the  greater  num- 
ber will  wander  away.  My  proposal  is,  that  we  should  at 
once  mark  out  a  plot  of  land  for  each  family  and  tell  them 
that  as  long  as  they  stay  here  it  is  theirs  rent-free;  they 
will  be  paid  for  their  work  upon  the  estate,  three,  four, 
or  five  days  a  week,  as  they  can  spare  time  from  their  own 
plots.  In  this  way  they  will  be  settled  down,  and  have 
crops  upon  their  plots  of  land,  before  the  whole  black 
population  is  upset  by  the  sudden  abolition  of  slavery." 

"But  supposing  they  won't  work  at  all,  even  for  wages, 
Vincent?" 

"I  should  not  give  them  the  option,  mother;  it  will  be 
a  condition  of  their  having  their  plots  of  land  free  that 
they  shall  work  at  least  three  days  a  week  for  wages." 

"I  will  think  over  what  you  say,  Vincent,  and  tell  you 
my  decision  in  the  morning.  I  certainly  think  your  plan 
is  a  good  one." 

The  next  morning  Mrs.  Wingfield  told  Vincent  that 
she  had  decided  to  adopt  his  plan.  He  at  once  held  a 
long  consultation  with  the  overseer,  and  decided  which 
fields  should  be  set  aside  for  the  allotments,  choosing 
land  close  to  the  negroes'  quarters  and  suitable  for  the 
raising  of  vegetables  for  sale  in  the  town. 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  37? 

In  the  afternoon  Mrs.  Wingfield  went  down  with  him. 
The  bell  was  rung  and  the  whole  of  the  slaves  assembled. 
Vincent  then  made  them  a  speech.  He  began  by  remind- 
ing them  of  the  kind  treatment  they  had  always  received, 
and  of  the  good  feeling  that  had  existed  between  the 
owners  of  the  Orangery  and  their  slaves.  He  praised 
them  for  their  good  conduct  since  the  beginning  of  the 
troubles,  and  said  that  his  mother  and  himself  had  agreed 
that  they  would  now  take  steps  to  reward  them,  and  to 
strengthen  the  tie  between  them.  They  would  all  be 
granted  their  freedom  at  once,  and  a  large  plot  of  land 
would  be  given  to  each  man,  as  much  as  he  and  his  fam- 
ily could  cultivate  with  an  average  of  two  days  a  week 
steady  labor. 

Those  who  liked  would,  of  course,  be  at  liberty  to 
leave;  but  he  hoped  that  none  of  them  would  avail  them™ 
selves  of  this  freedom,  for  nowhere  would  they  do  so  well 
as  by  accepting  the  offer  he  made  them.  All  who  ac- 
cepted the  offer  of  a  plot  of  land  rent-free  must  under- 
stand that  it  was  granted  them  upon  the  condition  that 
they  would  labor  upon  the  estate  for  at  least  three  days  a 
week,  receiving  a  rate  of  pay  similar  to  that  earned  by 
other  freed  negroes.  Of  course  they  would  be  at  liberty 
to  work  four  or  five  days  a  week  if  they  chose;  but  at 
least  they  must  work  three  days,  and  any  one  failing  to 
do  this  would  forfeit  his  plot  of  land.  "Three  days* 
work,"  he  said,  "will  be  sufficient  to  provide  all  neces- 
saries for  yourselves  and  families  and  the  produce  of  your 
land  you  can  sell,  and  will  so  be  able  to  lay  by  an  ample 
sum  to  keep  yourselves  in  old  age.  I  have  already  plotted 
out  the  land  and  you  shall  cast  lots  for  choice  of  the 
plots.  There  will  be  a  little  delay  before  all  your  papers 
of  freedom  can  be  made  out,  but  the  arrangement  will 
begin  from  to-day,  and  henceforth  you  will  be  paid  for 
all  labor  done  on  the  estate." 


378  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Scarcely  a  word  was  spoken  when  "Vincent  concluded. 
The  news  was  too  surprising  to  the  negroes  for  them  to 
be  able  to  understand  it  all  at  once.  Dan  and  Tony,  to 
whom  Vincent  had  already  explained  the  matter,  went 
among  them,  and  they  gradually  took  in  the  whole  of 
Vincent's  meaning.  A  few  received  the  news  with  great 
joy,  but  many  others  were  depressed  rather  than  rejoiced 
at  the  responsibilities  of  their  new  positions.  Hitherto 
they  had  been  clothed  and  fed,  the  doctor  attended  them 
in  sickness,  their  master  would  care  for  them  in  old  age. 
They  had  been  literally  without  a  care  for  the  morrow, 
and  the  thought  that  in  future  they  would  have  to  think 
of  all  these  things  for  themselves  almost  frightened  them. 
Several  of  the  older  men  went  up  to  Mrs.  WingSeld  and 
positively  declined  to  accept  their  freedom.  They  were 
quite  contented  and  happy,  and  wanted  nothing  more. 
They  had  worked  on  the  plantation  since  they  had  been 
children,  and  freedom  offered  them  no  temptations  what- 
ever. 

"What  had  we  better  do,  Vincent?"  Mrs.  Wingfield 
asked. 

"I  think,  mother,  it  will  be  best  to  tell  them  that  ail 
who  wish  can  remain  upon  the  old  footing,  but  that  their 
papers  will  be  made  out  and  if  at  any  time  they  wish  to 
have  their  freedom  they  will  only  have  to  say  so.  No 
doubt  they  will  soon  become  accustomed  to  the  idea,  and 
seeing  how  comfortable  the  others  are  with  their  pay  and 
the  produce  of  their  gardens  they  will  soon  fall  in  with 
the  rest.  Of  course  it  will  decrease  the  income  from  the 
estate,  but  not  so  much  as  you  would  think.  They  will 
be  paid  for  their  labor,  but  we  shall  have  neither  to  feed 
nor  clothe  them;  and  I  think  we  shall  get  better  labor 
than  we  do  now,  for  the  knowledge  that  those  who  do 
not  work  steadily  will  lose  their  plots  of  land,  and  have 
to  go  out  in  the  world  to  work,  their  places  being  filled 
by  others,  will  keep  them  steady." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  379 

"It's  an  experiment,  Vincent,  and  we  shall  see  how  rt 
works." 

"It's  an  experiment  I  have  often  thought  I  should  like 
to  make,  mother,  and  now  you  see  it  is  almost  forced 
upon  us.  To-morrow  I  will  ride  over  to  the  other  plan- 
tations and  make  the  same  arrangements." 

During  the  month  of  August  many  battles  took  place 
vound  Petersburg.  On  the  12th  the  Federals  attacked, 
but  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss,  and  2,500  prisoners 
were  taken.  On  the  21st  the  Confederates  attacked,  and 
obtained  a  certain  amount  of  success,  killing,  wounding, 
and  capturing  2,400  men.  Petersburg  was  shelled  day 
and  night,  and  almost  continuous  fighting  went  on. 
Nevertheless,  up  to  the  middle  of  October  the  positions 
of  the  armies  remained  unaltered.  On  the  27th  of  that 
month  the  Federals  made  another  general  attack,  but 
were  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  1,500  men.  During  the  next 
three  months  there  was  little  fighting,  the  Confederates 
having  now  so  strengthened  their  lines  by  incessant  toil 
that  even  Gen  iral  Grant,  reckless  of  the  lives  of  his 
troops  as  he  was,  hesitated  to  renew  the  assault. 

But  in  the  South  General  Sherman  was  carrying  all  be- 
fore him.  Generals  Hood  and  Johnson,  who  commanded 
the  Confederate  armies  there,  had  fought  several  desper- 
ate battles,  but  the  forces  opposed  to  them  were  too 
strong  to  be  driven  back.  They  had  marched  through 
Georgia  to  Atlanta  and  captured  that  important  town  on 
the  1st  of  September,  and  obtained  command  of  the  net- 
work of  railways,  and  thus  cut  off  a  large  portion  of  the 
Confederacy  from  Richmond.  Then  Sherman  marched 
south,  wasting  the  country  through  which  he  marched, 
and  capturing  Savannah  on  the  21st  of  September. 

"While  he  was  so  doing,  General  Hood  had  marched 
into  Tennessee,  and  after  various  petty  successes  was  de- 
feated, after  two  days'  hard  fighting,  near  Nashville.    In 


580  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

the  third  week  in  January,  1865,  Sherman  set  out  with 
60,000  infantry  and  10,000  cavalry  from  Savannah,  laying 
waste  the  whole  country — burning,  pillaging,  and  destroy- 
ing. The  town  of  Columbia  was  occupied,  sacked,  and 
burned,  the  white  men  and  women  and  even  the  negroes 
being  horribly  ill-treated. 

The  Confederates  evacuated  Charleston  at  the  ap- 
proach of  the  enemy,  setting  it  in  flames  rather  than 
allow  it  to  fall  into  Sherman's  hands.  The  Federal  army 
then  continued  its  devastating  route  through  South  Caro- 
lina, and  at  the  end  of  March  had  established  itself  at 
Goldsboro,  in  North  Carolina,  and  was  in  readiness  to 
aid  Grant  in  his  final  attack  on  Richmond. 

Lee,  seeing  the  imminence  of  the  danger,  made  an  at- 
tack upon  the  enemy  in  front  of  Petersburg,  but  was  re- 
pulsed. He  had  now  but  37,000  men  with  which  to 
oppose  an  enemy  of  nearly  four  times  that  strength  in 
front  of  him,  while  Sheridan's  cavalry,  10,000  strong, 
threatened  his  flank,  and  Sherman  with  his  army  was 
but  a  few  days'  march  distant.  There  was  fierce  fighting 
on  the  29th,  30th,  and  31st  of  March,  and  on  the  2d  of 
April  the  whole  Federal  army  assaulted  the  positions  at 
Petersburg,  and  after  desperate  fighting  succeeded  in 
carrying  them.  The  Confederate  troops,  outnumbered 
and  exhausted  as  they  were  by  the  previous  week's 
marching  and  fighting,  yet  retained  their  discipline,  and 
Lee  drew  off  with  20,000  men  and  marched  to  endeavor 
to  effect  a  junction  with  Johnston,  who  was  still  facing 
Sherman.  But  his  men  had  but  one  day's  provision  with 
them.  The  stores  that  he  had  ordered  to  await  them  at 
the  point  to  which  he  directed  his  march  had  not  arrived 
there  when  they  reached  it,  and,  harassed  at  every  foot 
of  their  march  by  Sheridan's  cavalry  and  Ord's  infantry, 
the  force  fought  its  way  on.  The  horses  and  mules  were 
so  weak  from  want  of  food  that  they  were  unable  to  drag 


WITH  LEE  m  **n0INIA.  381 

the  guns,  and  the  men  dropped  in  numiars  from  fatigue 
and  famine.  Sheridan  and  Ord  cut  off  W0  corps,  but 
Genaral  Lee,  with  but  8,000  infantry  and  2,000  cavalry, 
still  pressed  forward  toward  Lynchburg.  But  Sheridan 
threw  himself  in  the  way,  and,  finding  that  no  more 
could  be  done,  General  Lee  and  the  infantry  surrendered, 
and  a  few  days  later  Generals  Lee  and  Grant  met  and 
signed  terms  of  peace.  General  Johnston's  army  sur- 
rendered to  General  Sherman,  and  the  long  and  desperate 
struggle  was  at  an  end. 

It  was  a  dreadful  day  in  Richmond  when  the  news 
came  that  the  lines  of  Petersburg  were  forced,  and  that 
General  Lee  no  longer  stood  between  the  city  and  the  in- 
vaders. The  president  and  ministers  left  at  once,  and 
were  followed  by  all  the  better  class  of  inhabitants  who 
could  find  means  of  conveyance.  The  negroes,  Irish, 
and  some  of  the  lower  classes  at  once  set  to  work  to  pil- 
lage and  burn,  and  the  whole  city  would  have  been 
destroyed  had  not  a  Federal  force  arrived  and  at  once 
suppressed  the  rioting. 

Whatever  had  been  the  conduct  of  the  Federal  troops 
during  the  last  year  of  the  war,  however  great  the  suffer- 
ing they  had  inflicted  upon  the  unarmed  and  innocent 
population  of  the  country  through  which  they  marched, 
the  terms  of  peace  that  General  Grant  agreed  upon,  and. 
which  were,  although  with  some  reluctance,  ratified  by 
the  government,  were  in  the  highest  degree  liberal  and 
generous.  No  one  was  to  be  injured  or  molested  for  the 
share  he  had  taken  in  the  war.  A  general  amnesty  was 
granted  to  all,  and  the  States  were  simply  to  return  to 
the  position  in  the  Union  that  they  occupied  previous  to 
the  commencement  of  the  struggle. 

More  liberal  terms  were  never  granted  by  a  conqueror 
to  the  vanquished. 

Vincent  was  with  the  cavalry  who  escaped  prior  to 


382 


WITH  r^IN  VIRGINIA. 


Lee's  surrender.  Dut  as  soon  as  ^e  terms  of  peace  were 
ratified  the  iVrce  was  disbanded  and  he  returned  home. 
He  was  received  with  the  deepest  joy  by  his  mother  and 
sister. 

"Thank  God,,  my  dear  boy,  that  all  is  over,  and  you 
hate  been  preserved  to  us.  We  are  beaten,  but  no  one 
can  say  that  we  have  been  disgraced.  Had  every  State 
done  its  duty  as  Virginia  has  we  should  never  have  been 
overpowered.  It  has  been  a  terrible  four  years,  and  there 
are  few  families  indeed  that  have  no  losses  to  mourn." 

"It  was  well  you  were  not  in  Kichmond,  mother,  the 
day  of  the  riots." 

"Yes;  but  we  had  our  trouble  here  too,  Vincent.  A 
number  of  the  slaves  from  some  of  the  plantations  came 
along  this  way,  and  wanted  our  hands  to  join  them  to 
burn  down  their  quarters  and  the  house,  and  to  march  to 
Kichmond.  Tony  and  Dan,  hearing  of  their  approach, 
armed  themselves  with  your  double-barreled  guns,  went 
down  and  called  out  the  hands  and  armed  them  with  hoes 
and  other  implements.  When  the  negroes  came  up  there 
was  a  desperate  quarrel,  but  our  hands  stood  firm/and 
Tony  and  Dan  declared  that  they  would  shoot  the  first 
four  men  that  advanced,  and  at  last  they  drew  off  and 
made  their  way  to  Kichmond. 

"Your  plan  has  succeeded  admirably.  One  or  two  of 
the  hands  went  to  Richmond  next  day,  but  returned  a 
day  or  two  afterward  and  begged  so  hard  to  be  taken  on 
again  that  I  forgave  them.  Since  then  everything  has 
been  going  on  as  quietly  and  regularly  as  usual,  while 
there  is  scarcely  a  man  left  on  any  of  the  estates  near." 

"And  now,  mother,  that  I  find  things  are  quiet  and 
settled  here,  I  shall  go  down  to  Georgia  and  fetch  Lucy 
home.  I  shall  be  of  age  in  a  few  months,  and  the  house 
on  the  estate  that  comes  to  me  then  can  be  enlarged  a 
bit,  and  will  do  very  well." 


WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA.  383 

"Not  at  all,  Vincent.  Annie  will  be  married  next 
month.  Herbert  Kowsell  was  here  two  days  ago,  and  it's 
all  settled.  So  I  shall  be  alone  here.  It  will  be  very 
lonely  and  dull  for  me,  Vincent,  and  I  would  rather  give 
up  the  reins  of  government  to  Lucy  and  live  here  with 
you,  if  you  like  the  plan.J> 

"Certainly,  I  should  like  it,  mother,  and  so,  I  am  sure, 
would  Lucy." 

"Well,  at  any  rate,  Vincent,  we  will  try  the  experi- 
ment, and  if  it  does  not  work  well  I  will  take  possession 
of  the  other  house." 

"There  is  no  fear  of  that,  mother,  none  whatever." 

"And  when  are  you  thinking  of  getting  married,  Vin- 
cent?" 

"'At  once,  mother.  I  wrote  to  her  the  day  we  were  dis- 
banded saying  that  I  should  come  in  a  week,  and  would 
allow  another  week  and  no  longer  for  her  to  get  ready." 

"Then,  in  that  case,  Vincent,  Annie  and  I  will  go 
down  with  you.  Annie  will  not  have  much  to  do  to  get 
ready  for  her  own  wedding.  It  must,  of  course,  be  a 
very  quiet  one,  and  there  will  be  no  array  of  dresses  to 
get;  for  I  suppose  it  will  be  some  time  yet  before  the 
railways  are  open  again  and  things  begin  to  come  down 
from  the  North." 

Happily  Antioch  had  escaped  the  ravages  of  war,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  mar  the  happiness  of  the  wedding. 
Lucy's  father  had  returned,  having  lost  a  leg  in  one  of 
the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  a  year  before,  and  her 
brother  had  also  escaped.  After  the  wedding  they  re- 
turned to  their  farm  in  Tennessee,  and  Mrs.  Wingfield, 
Annie,  Vincent,  and  Lucy  went  back  to  the  Orangery. 

For  the  next  three  or  four  years  times  were  very  hard 
in  Virginia,  and  Mrs.  Wingfield  had  to  draw  upon  her 
savings  to  keep  up  the  house  in  its  former  state;  while 
the  great  majority  of  the  planters  were  utterly  ruined. 


384  WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA. 

The  negroes,  however,  for  the  most  part  remained  stead- 
ily working  on  the  estate.  A  few  wandered  away,  but 
their  places  were  easily  filled;  for  the  majority  of  the 
freed  slaves  very  soon  discovered  that  their  lot  was  a  far 
harder  one  than  it  had  been  before,  and  that  freedom  so 
suddenly  given  was  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing  to 
them. 

Thus,  while  so  many  went  down,  the  Wingfields 
weathered  the  storm,  and  the  step  that  had  been  taken 
in  preparing  their  hands  for  the  general  abolition  of 
slavery  was  a  complete  success. 

With  the  gradual  return  of  prosperity  to  the  South  the 
prices  of  produce  improved,  and  ten  years  after  the  con- 
clusion of  the  rebellion  the  income  of  the  Orangery  was 
nearly  as  large  as  it  had  been  previous  to  its  outbreak. 
Vincent,  two  years  after  the  conclusion  of  the  struggle, 
took  his  wife  over  to  visit  his  relations  in  England,  and, 
since  the  death  of  his  mother  in  1879,  has  every  year 
spent  three  or  four  months  at  home,  and  will  not  improba- 
bly ere  long  sell  his  estates  in  Virginia  and  settle  in  Eng- 
land altogether. 


SBB  WD* 


WHAT    HE    LEFT. 

BY  FRANCES  HENSHAW  BADEN. 

"  I  know  not  of  the  truth,  d'ye  see, 
I  tell  the  tale  as  'twas  told  to  me." 

^ /TARK  BROWNSON  was  dying,  slowly,  but  surely,  s© 
LVJL  the  physician  told  his  wife,  and  advised  that  if  he 
had  any  business  to  settle,  it  should  not  be  delayed. 

"  He  is  sinking,  and  even  now  I  see  his  mind  is,  at 
times,  a  little  clouded.  However,  I  suppose  there  is  noth- 
ing of  importance  that  he  should  consider,"  said  the 
doctor. 

"  He  has  made  no  will,"  said  Mrs.  Brownson. 

"  Is  that  necessary  ?     I  did  not  know — " 

"  I  think  it  is  very  necessary,  doctor,  for  his  children's 
welfare.  Not  that  I  think  it  at  all  likely  there  can  be  any 
contest  about  what  Mr.  Brownson  has.  Yet  to  provide 
against  any  future  troubles,  it  would  be  prudent,  I  think." 

The  good  doctor  assented,  but  looked  much  surprised. 

And  well  he  might.  No  one  imagined  old  Mark  Brown- 
eon  had  anything  to  will.  But  he  was  a  very  eccentric 
man ;  and  the  economical  style  of  his  establishment  was 
likely  one  of  his  notions. 

"Are  you  suffering  much  pain  now,  Mark  ?"  asked  Mrs. 
Brownson,  a  few  moments  after,  when  she  was  seated  at 
her  b«*band's  bedside.  <223> 


224  WHAT     HE     LEFT. 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  give  me  my  composing  draught — the  opium 
■ — anything  to  relieve  me,"  answered  the  suffering  man. 

His  wife  obeyed,  and  after  his  groaning  and  restlessness 
had  ceased,  she  said : 

"  I  want  to  talk  to  you,  Mark.     Can  you  listen  now  ?  " 

A  nodded  assent  gave  her  permission  to  proceed. 
\  "  Do  you  not  think  it  would  be  as  well  for  you  to  express 
your  wishes  with  regard  to  the  disposition  of  your  stocks 
and  other  effects  ?  You  may  outlive  me,  Mark,  and  this 
thing  not  be  necessary,  still  I  think  it  better  to  attend 
to  such  business,"  said  Mrs.  Brownson,  closely  watching 
the  effect  her  words  might  have  on  the  sufferer. 

She  had  feared  possibly  they  might  shock  him  severely, 
but  depending  much  on  the  favorable  influence  of  the 
opiate,  she  had  ventured  on  the  business  she  considered  so 
important. 

A  look  of  satisfaction  replaced  the  anxiety  of  a  moment 
before.     She  had  no  longer  cause  for  fear.     Calmly  Mark 
Brownson  heard  her  suggestion,   and   said,   in   a  feeble 
voice : 
;    "  What  have  1  to  will  ?  " 

"  Why,  dear,  you  forget.  Your  long  sickness  and  the 
opium — no  wonder  !  There  is  the  stock  in  the  '  Liverpool 
Steamship  Company,'  and  that  in  the  'Australian  Mining 
Company.'  Surely  you  have  not  forgotten  your  large 
amount  in  our  State  bonds?  And  how  much  you  have 
in  '  Fire  and  Life  Insurance  stock '  I  cannot  just  remember 
now.     However,  by  reference  to  the  papers  I  can  tell." 

Again  she  watched  her  husband's  face.  It  only  ex- 
pressed a  rather  puzzled  brain,  as  though  he  was  trying  to 
remember. 

"  You  have  such  papers  ?     I  cannot  think,"  he  said. 

"  Don't  try  to,  dear.  It  is  not  necessarjr.  I  will  just 
look  over  your  papers,  and  make  a  statement;  and  wheD 


#HAT     HE     LEFT.  225 

I  read  them  over  to  you  in  presence  of  the  lawyer,  you  can 
assent.  You  wish  an  equal  division  between  myself  and 
our  daughters,  I  know.     Is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes.  You  are  always  right,"  murmured  her  hus- 
band. 

"  There,  dear,  go  to  sleep  now.  Some  time  when  you 
are  easy  we  will  fix  this,"  said  Mrs.  Brownson. 

And  the  next  day,  at  an  hour  when  she  knew  her  hus- 
band's mind  was  best  prepared,  a  lawyer  was  summoned, 
and  a  statement  of  stocks  and  bonds  to  the  amount  of  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  placed  before  him,  and  Mark 
Brownson  expressed  his  wish  to  have  an  equal  division 
of  his  effects  made  between  his  wife  and  two  children. 

The  will  was  made,  and  duly  signed  and  witnessed  by 
two  of  the  nearest  neighbors  and  the  only  domestic,  a 
worthy  woman  who  had  been  with  Mrs.  Brownson  for 
many  years. 

A  few  days  more,  and  Mark  Brownson  had  passed  from 
earth. 

Many  wondered  at  the  very  quiet  and  unostentatious 
style  of  the  last  services  for  him ;  but  the  widow  had  said: 

"  In  death  it  shall  be  with  him  as  he  always  preferred 
in  life." 

And  then  when  all  was  over,  and  the  summer  months 
were  coming,  Mrs.  Brownson  sold  out  the  modest  little  es- 
tablishment, and,  with  her  daughters  and  their  faithful 
servant,  went  to  board  by  the  seashore,  at  a  very  fashion- 
able resort;  but,  of  course,  not  to  mingle  in  the  gay 
festivities  of  the  season,  only  to  recruit  her  health,  which. 
was  very  much  impared  by  long  attention  to  her  suffering 
husband,  and  to  have  the  girls  escape  the  heat  and  dust 
of  the  city. 

A.  few  days  after  they  were  settled  in  their  new  abode, 
Mrs,  Brownson  said  to  her  attendant: 


226  WHAT     HE     LEFT. 

"  Margaret,  you  were  very  much  surprised  by  hearing 
Mr.  Brownson 's  will." 

"  Oh,  yes,  ma'am,  indeed  I  was." 

"Well,  Margaret,  I  do  not  wish  you  to  mention  any- 
thing about  it  down  here.  Mr.  Brownson,  you  know, 
never  let  it  be  known  to  the  world.  And  so  it  must  be 
for  the  present.  I  do  not  wish  my  daughters  to  be  mar- 
ried for  anything  but  their  own  good  qualities.  They  are 
good  and  beautiful  enough  to  marry  well,  without  having 
any  other  inducements  for  suitors.  Now,  Margaret,  you 
know  just  how  I  feel,  and  what  I  mean  ?  "  said  the  anxious 
mother. 

"  Certainly  I  do  !  And  I  feel  as  much  concerned  about 
my  beautiful  young  ladies  as  you  do,  ma'am.  Never  fear 
but  I  will  look  out  for  their  interest,"  answered  the  worthy 
woman. 

And  to  do  as  she  said,  to  the  best  of  her  understanding, 
Margaret  set  out  for  a  walk  on  the  beach,  with  some  of 
the  other  servants  and  their  escorts,  the  waiters  from  the 
hotel.  And  before  the  next  noon  it  was  well  known  what 
a  good  chance  there  was  for  two  young  men  to  win  as 
beautiful  wives  as  ever  were  seen,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
other  greater  attractions. 

And  very  soon  the  sisters,  Maud  and  May,  were  objects 
of  universal  observation.  Yet  it  was  very  difficult  to  get 
an  introduction,  the  young  gentlemen  all  found ;  for  the 
widow  kept  the  beautiful  girls  very  much  secluded. 

Numberless  were  the  delicate  attentions  paid  them,  in 
the  way  of  bouquets,  books,  and  so  on,  sent  by  Margaret { 
and  several  cards  to  Mrs.  Brownson,  with  the  request  for 
an  introduction,  accompanied  by  references — among  which 
came  those  of  Vernon  Wadsworth  and  Harry  Bennett. 

The  first  one  Mrs.  Brownson  knew  well  by  reputation. 
He  was  a  young  physician  of  very  fine  promise,  and.  being 


WHAT     HE     LEFT.  227 

Of  one  of  the  best  families  in  the  State,  she  considered  him 
worthy  of  her  attention.  The  other,  she  had  heard  since 
her  arrival  there,  was  the  possessor  of  a  very  fair  amount 
of  worldly  goods,  the  life-long  accumulation  of  an  old 
miser  uncle.  So,  from  the  many  aspirants,  Mrs.  Brownson 
selected  these  two  to  present  to  her  daughters. 

Just  at  this  time,  Doctor  Alton,  Mrs.  Brownson's  friend 
and  the  physician  who  had  attended  her  husband,  arrived 
at  the  sea-shore;  and  through  him,  without  any  more 
trouble  or  waiting  the  mother's  pleasure,  young  Doctor 
Wadsworth  obtained  an  introduction,  and  presented  his 
friend,  Bennett. 

And  although  both  of  these  young  men  did  their  best  to 
keep  back  all  others  by  various  manoeuvres,  many  more 
became  acquainted  with  the  lovely  sisters,  who  soon, 
much  to  their  own  surprise,  became  decidedly  the  belles 
of  that  resort. 

Carefully  Mrs.  Brownson  had  guarded  her  secret  from 
her  girls,  fearing,  perhaps,  it  would  have  a  prejudicial 
effect,  changing  their  sweet,  unassuming  manner,  which 
was  one  of  their  greatest  charms ;  or,  perhaps,  for  other 
motives  best  known  to  herself. 

Although  Doctor  Wadsworth  and  young  Bennett  ver}r 
much  feared  the  approach  of  other  suitors,  it  was  quite 
needless,  for  the  girls  were  best  pleased  with  the  first  who 
had  sought  them  and  drawn  them  forth  from  their  seclu- 
sion. 

The  older  one,  Maud,  a  brilliant  brunette,  received  with 
undisguised  pleasure  the  devoted  attention  of  Harry  Ben- 
nett; while  gentle  little  May,  so  fair  and  timid,  always 
greeted  the  handsome  doctor  by  a  rosy  flush  suffusing  her 
beautiful  face ;  and  then,  from  a  shy,  quick  glance  from, 
the  eyes,  that  had  drooped  at  his  approach,  he  would  sea 
the  glad  light  that  told  how  welcome  his  coming  was. 


223  WHAT      HE    LEFT. 

"  We  must  win  them  now,  doctor ;  you  see  how  much 
they  are  admired  and  sought  here.  What  will  it  be  when, 
they  are  out  of  their  mourning  robes  and  in  the  gayeties 
of  the  city  ?  This  is  our  best  chance.  What  say  you  ?  " 
asked  young  Bennett,  a  fortnight  after  their  introduction. 

"  Say  !  That  the  very  idea  of  even  losing  sight  of  that 
gentle,  beautiful  May  for  a  day,  fills  my  heart  with  mis- 
giving and  great  anxiety.  I  tell  you,  I  began  this  affair 
rather  in  fun — " 

"  Yon  mean  after  funds,  perhaps ! "  interrupted  Bennett. 

A  flush  suffused  Doctor  Wads  worth's  face  for  an  instant, 
i'  and  he  answered : 

,  "  Well,  I'll  admit  that  is  not  at  all  objectionable ;  but 
really,  now  that  I  know  May  Brownson,  I  would  not  be 
willing  to  resign  her  to  another  man,  even  if  she  had  not 
a  dollar  in  the  world." 

There  was  an  expression  about  Harry  Bennett's  mouth 
that  looked  as  if  his  lips  wanted  to  say :  "  I  don't  believe 
you" — only  they  did  not  just  dare  to.  Harry  Bennett 
was  as  much  in  love  as  he  could  be  with  any  one  other 
than  himself,  still  he  was  not  going  to  leap  without  look- 
ing. So,  after  learning  a  little  more  than  he  had  already 
heard  from  Margaret,  he  was  called,  very  urgently,  to  the 
city.  After  an  absence  of  only  two  days  he  was  back 
again,  and  stated  to  Doctor  Wadsworth  his  knowledge  of 
Mark  Brownson's  possessions.  That  evening  Mrs.  Brown- 
son  received  proposals  for  both  of  her  daughters. 

She  must  consider  the  matter,  and  consult  with  her 
friends,  the  prudent  mother  thought  and  said  to  the 
anxious  suitors. 

This  made  them  each  more  determined  to  secure  the 
prize. 

"  Dear  May,  plead  with  your  mother  for  me ! "  said  tiie 
ardent  young  doctor. 


WHAT     HE     LEFT.  229 

"Mamma  will  consent  after  a  while,"  answered  the 
gentle  girl. 

"After  a  while!  Why  not  now?  I  am  going  away 
next  month  for  a  long  time.  I  cannot  leave  you,  May. 
Would  you  wish  me  to  ?  " 

May  turned  pale  at  the  thought,  and  raised  her  pleading 
eyes  to  her  mother. 

It  was  enough.  Doctor  Wadsworth  had  used  the  surest 
weapon.  A  separation  was  dreaded  by  both  mother  and 
daughter,  and  each  for  different  reasons.  And  then  it 
was  an  easier  thing  for  Harry  Bennett  to  obtain  the 
mother's  consent,  to  claim  his  love  at  the  same  time.  i 

Mrs.  Brownson,  after  giving  her  consent,  requested  a 
private  interview  with  her  prospective  sons-in-law.  The 
girls  were  sent  from  the  room,  and  then  Mrs.  Brownson 
said : 

"  I  have  thought  possibly,  gentlemen,  that  a  very  foolish 
rumor  may  have  reached  your  ears  respecting  the  wealth 
possessed  by  my  daughters,  and  that — excuse  me,  but  I 
must  allude  to  it — this  may  in  a  measure  have  influenced, 
your  selecting  them  from  the  many  young  girls  here — ■" 

"  Oh,  madam !  "  both  men  exclaimed  simultaneously. 

"  If  I  tell  you  they  have  nothing  but  their  pure  hearts 
and  loving  natures,  will  you  not  be  disappointed  ?  " 

"  No,  madam.  How  can  you  judge  me  so  ?  "  exclaimed 
both. 

"  I  am  glad  it  is  so.  I  would  not  have  you  marry  my 
daughters  under  false  impressions." 

"  When  May  is  mine,  I  shall  think  I  have  secured  the 
most  valuable  fortune  any  man  can  have,"  said  the  doctor, 
with  a  really  honest  look  in  his  eyes. 

"  When  Maud  is  mine,  I  shall  know  I  have  secured  all 
I  would  wish,"  added  Harry  Bennett,  with  rather  a  eiy 
twinkle  in  his  eyes. 


230  WHAT     HE     LEFT. 

And  so  it  was  agreed  that  they  should  be  united  there^ 
and  after  a  very  private  wedding  leave  for  an  extensive 
bridal  tour. 

"'The  old  fox!  Is  she  not  a  sly  one?  She  thought  to 
throw  us  off,  I  do  believe.  But  I"  am  as  bright  as  she," 
said  Harry  Bennett,  after  the  interview. 

u  Really,  Bennett,  that  is  not  a  very  respectful  way  of 
speaking  of  the  mother  of  your  promised  wife,"  replied 
Doctor  Wadsworth. 

"  Well,  no ;  you  are  right.  But  just  to  think  of  her 
talking  so  to  us !  "  answered  Harry,  with  an  air  of  injured 
pride. 

The  ceremony  was  over.  After  an  acquaintance  of  less 
than  six  weeks,  Doctor  Wadsworth  and  Harry  Bennett 
had  won  their  wives. 

And  while  the  brides  had  retired  to  change  their  dress 
for  the  travelling-suit,  the  happy  young  husbands  requested 
to  speak  a  moment  with  their  mother-in-law. 

"  Indeed  you  must  speak;  I  will  not,"  said  Doctor  Wads- 
worth, in  a  low  tone,  as  he  closed  the  door,  and  with  Ben- 
nett approached  Mrs.  Brownson. 

After  a  moment's  hesitation,  Harry  Bennett  said : 

"Now,  Mrs.  Brownson,  that  we  have  proved  our  sin- 
cerity and  real  love  for  your  daughters,  there  is  no  reason 
for  any  longer  concealment." 

"About  what,  sir?"  asked  his  mother-in-law. 

'•  Come,  my  dear  madam ;  this  is  entirely  useless.  You 
have  tried  and  proved  us.     Now  to  business." 

"  Really,  Mr.  Bennett,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  you ! 
Will  you  please  to  be  explicit  ?  " 

"  Well,  madam,  then  I  must  tell  you  that  I  am  perfectly 
well  aware  that  my  wife  is  entitled  to  the  one-third  of  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  left  by  her  father.  Now,  my 
dear  madam,  we  are  going  on  a  very  long  and  expensive 


WHAT     HE     LEFT,  231 

trip,  and  may  need  more  than  I  have  in  ready  money. 
Now,  that  is  just  the  whole  truth,"  said  Harry,  who  had 
gotten  over  his  slight  embarrassment,  and  then  spoke  in  a 
very  business  sort  of  manner. 

Not  so  Doctor  Wadsworth  ;  he  seemed  very  much  mor- 
tified, and  looked  as  if  he  wished  he  was  away  from  that 
scene. 

"  Mr.  Bennett.  I  spoke  to  you  about  this  report,  and  told 
you  how  false  it  was,  did  I  not  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  madam ;  but  you  see — " 

"  You  still  believe  this,  even  when  I  again  tell  you  that 
neither  I  nor  my  daughters  have  a  dollar  in  the  world 
beyond  the  small  amount  I  have  now  from  the  sale  of  my 
household  effects?  I  assure  you,  sir,  I  speak  the  truth," 
gaid  Mrs.  Brownson,  in  a  tone  and  manner  that  would 
have  enforced  belief. 

But  Harry  Bennett  said,  triumphantly: 

"Madam,  I  have  seen  Mr.  Brownson 's  will." 

"That  will,  my  dear  sir,  is  not  worth  the  paper  it  is  writ 
ten  on.  Mr.  Brownson  was  out  of  his  head,  and  imagined 
he  was  possessed  of  that  sum  in  bonds  and  stock.  If 
you  can  find  any  such  possession,  no  one  would  wel- 
come it  more  gladly  than  I.  You  can  readily  prove  the 
truth." 

Harry  Bennett  gazed  bewildered  from  his  mother-in-la^ 
to  Doctor  Wadsworth,  and  then  said  in  a  low  voice,  as  if 
to  himself: 

"  Caught  and  caged." 

"And  I  am  glad  of  it,"  exclaimed  the  doctor,  who  wai 
truly  glad  of  anything  to  end  that  very  embarrassing  inter- 
view. "  Come,  Bennett,  we  must  arrange  our  trip  to  suit 
the  extent  of  our  purse,  and  be  happy  with  the  prizes  we 
iiave  won." 

a  Well,  madam,  I  must  say  that  the  old  gentleman's  wll 


232  WHAT     HE     LEFT. 

was  worth  something.  For  I'll  own  up  now,  it  nelped 
very  much  to  secure  you  one  very  nice  young  man  for 
your  son.  I'll  speak  a  word  for  him,  although  he  has 
been  done  up  to  a  very  Brown  son  !  I'm  ready  now,  Wads- 
worth,  and  we  won't  shorten  our  trip  one  mile ;  for  I've  got 
a  fortune,  thanks  to  my  old  uncle.  Yes,  and  another,  I'll 
have  to  admit  (there  she  is  now),  thanks  to  her  father's 
will." 

Mrs.  Brownson  could  not  resist  a  smile.  She  had  no 
misgivings  about  her  children's  future  happiness.  If  they 
had  not  already  secured  their  husbands'  affection,  she 
knew  they  would  soon ;  for  who  could  help  loving  such 
lovely  girk  J 


BY  FRANCES  HENSIAW  BADBI, 

WHAT  became  of  Silas  Shaw's  money  was  a  subject 
that  bad  agitated  the  community  of  W very 

much.  The  most  celebrated  detectives  had  worked  upon 
the  case  for  twelve  months,  yet  failed  to  throw  any  light 
upon  the  subject;  all  was  wrapped  in  mystery.  Not  a 
clue  was  found  to  work  upon.  It  was  only  known  that  on 
a  certain  day  during  the  dark  period  of  our  national 
struggle,  Silas  Shaw  had  drawn  from  the  bank,  in  gold, 
the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  dollars.  Silas  had  grown 
gloomy  as  regarded  the  termination  of  the  contest,  declar- 
ing that  "  if  the  old  flag  was  not  triumphant  he  should 
leave  the  country."  In  preparation  for  that  event  he  had 
secured  his  gold.  A  few  months  after  he  widely  declared 
his  money  stolen.  He  stated  having  buried  the  gold 
under  the  hearthstone,  in  a  certain  room  of  an  untenanted 
house  belonging  to  him — that  after  it  was  again  occupied, 
at  regular  intervals  he  watched  for  the  safety  of  his 
treasure.  It  remained  where  he  had  put  it  until  a  fort- 
night after  the  house  was  again  vacant,  when,  going  one 
day  to  see  that  all  was  right,  he  found  the  bricks  thrown 
aside,  the  mortar  scattered  around,  and  the  gold  all  gone. 

This  statement  was  somewhat  substantiated  by  the  ten- 
ants, who  told  of  being  very  much  annoyed  by  the  frequent 
visits  of  Mr.  Shaw  to  satisfy  himself  respecting  the  safety 
of  the  fines,  he  said.    Believing  something  more  than  h.9 

(235) 


%'*&  WHO    STOLE    HIS    GOLD? 

said  caused  his  visits,  which  to  them  seemed  very  mys- 
terious, they  determined  to  find  another  house,  and  did 
so ;  thus  giving  their  landlord  the  opportunity  of  inspect- 
ing the  flues  to  his  perfect  satisfaction. 

Shaw  hinted  his  distrust  of  these  people ;  but  to  nothing 
by  which  to  fix  a  well-grounded  suspicion  could  he  point. 
Shaw  was  never  a  very  agreeable  person,  and  generally  he 
was  disliked.  After  his  loss,  he  grew  so  very  gloomy  and 
irritable  that  people  avoided  him  everywhere. 

There  was,  however,  one  redeeming  point  about  him: 
his  love  for  Mira,  his  daughter  and  only  child.  Hitherto, 
for  her  sake,  he  had  tolerated  Reginald  Harland,  a  young 
man  truly  worthy  of  Mira's  love,  and  of  whom  even  her 
father  could  find  but  one  fault,  which  in  his  eyes  became 
a  crime — Reginald's  poverty. 

After  the  loss  of  his  gold,  Silas  declared  himself  a 
pauper,  and  telling  Mira  she  must  send  her  lover  off,  told 
Reginald  himself  to  go. 

"  We  are  all  paupers  now,"  he  said ;  "  and  paupers  must 
think  of  something  other  than  love-making." 

Reginald  pleaded  earnestly  with  Mira  to  fly  with  him. 
Bravely  she  resisted. 

"  Nay,  nay,  Reginald  ;  I  can  never  desert  him  during  hia 
trouble.  I  must  come  to  you  meriting  blessings,  not 
dreading  the  curse  of  disobedience  and  ingratitude,"  she 
said. 

"  Mira,  I  am  going  to  make  one  more  appeal.  Possibly 
I  may  touch  his  heart,"  Reginald  said. 

And  starting  right  off,  he  sought  Silas  Shaw,  and 
pleaded  earnestly  and  long  for  permission  to  wed  hia 
child. 

"Is  there  nothing  I  can  do  to  change  your  mind? 
Speak !     Tell  me  what  you  demand  !  "  Reginald  asked. 

With  a  mocking  laugh,  Silas  answered : 


WHO    STOLE    HIS    GOLD?  237 

"  Yes ;  find  my  gold,  or  the  one  who  stole  it,  and  I  will 
give  you  my  child  i  ' 

With  a  disappointed  look,  Reginald  turned  away,  saying : 

"  I  find  what  men  have  failed  to  do — men  whose 
thoughts  and  energy  are  given  entirely  to  such  work? 
You  mock  me,  sir." 

"  Find  my  gold,  and  you'll  find  your  bride ! "  hissed 
Silas. 

"  I  will  work  for  gold,  as  much,  and  bring  you,"  urged 
Reginald. 

"  No ;  I  want  only  my  own  gold.  Find  that,  if  you  wish 
my  child." 

'  Reginald  could  not  go  and  tell  Mira  of  his  failure.  Dis= 
feeartened,  he  sought  his  home.  With  his  head  bowed  on 
his  hands,  he  sat  and  reviewed,  over  and  over,  the  same 
ground  so  many  had  gone  before,  weighing  every  lit$e 
point,  every  word  he  had  heard  of  the  mysterious  affair, 
but  as  vainly  as  others.  No  light  shone  in  on  the  dark- 
ness. 

"  "lis  useless,"  he  said.  "  I  will  not  attempt  it,  lest  1 
become  as  mad  as  Silas  Shaw  himself.  For  mad  he  surely 
is,  or  he  would  not  try  me  thus." 

Then  Mira's  beautiful  face  and  tearful  eyes  rose  up 
before  him,  and  again  his  brain  began  to  work. 

"  Only  in  Heaven  it  is  known,  and  there,  I  fear,  it  must 
remain,"  he  said,  sadly,  "  unless  some  angel  voice  should 
whisper  it  to  me." 

Hours  passed,  and  still  he  sat.  All  darkness — no  light 
breaking  in  yet.  Starting  up,  he  threw  off  his  coat,  and 
dropped,  heart-sick  and  weary,  on  his  bed,  exclaiming: 

"  I  shall  strive  no  more.  My  brain  is  burning  with 
fever  now." 

A  few  moments,  antk  he  might  have  fallen  into  a  little 
doze,  from  which  he  started,  and  cried  out: 


238  WHO    STOLE    HIS    GOLD? 

"I  have  it!  I  have  it!" 

Had  some  angel  spirit — his  mother,  perchance — whis- 
pered in  his  ear,  revealing  the  long-hidden  secret  ?  Perhaps 
he  felt  so. 

"Seeking  Silas  Shaw  early  the  next  day,  Reginald  said : 

"  Mr.  Shaw,  I  accept  your  terms.  I  believe  I  have  a  clue 
by  which  I  shall  find  the  thief;  probably  your  gold.  That 
I  may  perfect  m}''  plan  of  detection,  I  beg  that  you  will 
permit  me  to  become  an  inmate  of  this  house  for  a  few 
nights,  say  a  week.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  if  I  do  not 
solve  this  mystery,  I  shall  give  it  up." 

Again  the  old  mocking  laugh  from  Silas,  and  he  said 
angrily : 

"  I  understand  you.     You  want  to  rob  me  of  my  child ! " 

"  Send  her  away,  to  remain  during  the  time  I  shall  be 
here,  if  you  have  no  confidence  in  me." 

" I  will"  said  Silas ;  adding,  " Tell  me  what  you  wish  to 
come  here  for?" 

"Because  I  believe  the  thief  is  intimately  acquainted 
here;  aye,  perhaps  a  member  of  your  household.  You 
may,  if  you  choose,  let  it  be  thought  you  have  more  money 
or  valuables  about  your  premises,  and  I  shall  watch  the 
result." 

Silas  agreed,  and  Reginald  that  night  occupied  the  room 
adjoining  the  old  man's. 

Three  nights  passed  without  bringing  him  any  more 
light  upon  the  subject.  Twice  during  his  midnight 
watches  he  stole  to  the  door  of  Silas'  room,  attracted  by  a 
stealthy  step  within,  to  see  only  the  old  man  moving 
about — he,  perhaps,  anxious  and  watchful  too. 

The  fourth  night,  exhausted  from  the  loss  of  rest  and 
great  excitement,  Reginald  dropped  upon  a  couch,  and 
soon  after  fell  into  a  restless,  uneasy  slumber,  from  which 
he  would  start*  and  gaze  wildly  around.    Manv  times  he 


WHO    STOLE    HIS    GOLD?  239 

did  this,  until  at  length  there  came  something  to  rivet  his 
eager  eyes  upon. 

Stealing  noiselessly  through  his  room,  by  the  dimly 
burning  taper  he  beheld  a  man,  bearing  a  small  lamp. 
He  approached,  opened  the  door,  and  passed  out  into  the 
hall. 

Up  and  after  him,  with  a  step  as  noiseless,  stole  Reginald. 
Through  the  long  passages,  down  flight  after  flight  of  steps, 
into  the  very  depths  they  went. 

Carefully  placing  his  lamp  on  the  cellar  floor,  the  man 
turned,  and  +Men  for  the  first  time  his  features  were 
revealed  to  Reginald.     They  were  not  unknown. 

Drawing  from  a  hiding-place  a  small  step-ladder,  the 
man  approached  the  centre  of  the  room,  where  Reginald 
beheld  a  cistern,  over  into  which  the  man,  dropping  his 
ladder  and  again  securing  his  lamp,  descended  slowly  and 
cautiously.  After  him  Reginald  crept  unnoticed.  The 
place  was  dry,  as  he  suspected.  The  lamp  again  placed 
on  the  floor,  and  something  like  a  small  pick  drawn  forthf 
the  man  went  to  work.  A  few  bricks  were  removed,  and 
pushing  aside  the  dust,  he  drew  out  the  long  lost  gold. 
Reginald  knew  it  was,  even  before  the  box  was  opened. 
A  moment  after  his  eyes  beheld  his  triumph.  Mira  was 
his.    Then  was  the  moment  for  action. 

With  a  smart  tap  on  the  man's  shoulder,  he  said : 

"  Mr.  Shaw,  awake !     Here  is  your  gold." 

The  somnambulist  turned,  gazed  wildly  on  Reginald, 
who  pointed  to  the  box  of  gold,  and  repeated : 

"  There  is  your  long  lost  gold,  Mr.  Shaw ! " 

The  old  man  was  awake,  his  eyes  gazing  eagerly  on  his 
treasure.  He  knew  all  then,  and  in  his  great  joy  sank,  as 
Reginald  feared,  dying,  on  the  cistern  floor. 

Gently  raising,  he  bore  him  out  and  up,  retracing  his 
steps  through  the  long  halls  to  his  own  room. 


tMO  WHO     STOLE    HIS    GOLD? 

After  applying  restoratives,  Reginald  was  rewarded  by 
seeing  signs  of  consciousness  appearing.  A  little  longer, 
and  Silas  whispered : 

"Is  it  true?" 

In  answer  Reginald  sped  swiftly  thence,  descending 
again  to  the  cellar ;  and  in  a  few  moments  more  re-entered 
the  room,  and  placed  beside  the  old  man  his  box  of  gold. 

"Mira  is  yours,  and  this  her  dowry,"  the  old  man 
whispered. 

And  Reginald,  as  he  clasped  the  trembling  hand  ta 
express  his  joy  and  thanks,  noticed  the  old  look  of  bitter- 
ness and  suspicion  was  gone.  Silas  Shaw  smiled,  probably 
the  first  time  for  many  long  months,  perhaps  years,  as  he 
said : 

"  I  wish  Mira  was  here  now." 

Thus  Reginald  Harland  won  his  love.  And  thus  it  was 
that  the  mystery  which  had  so  long  agitated  the  minds  of 
go  many  was  discovered,  and  the  oft-repeated  query, 
€i  Who  stole  Shaw's  gold  ?  "  was  heard  no  more. 


